


Confessions: A Daniel and Vala story of Love and Marriage

by oceania



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Babies, Established Relationship, F/M, First Time, Romance, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-09
Updated: 2011-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-21 05:16:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 72,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/221327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceania/pseuds/oceania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Residual memories of their time aboard the Odyssey send Daneil and Vala into eachothers arms, evenually, and into a life together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written in the summer of 2009. My first piece of fanfiction. Despite its flaws, I actually am most fond of this story because it sprang from passion and the energy of a fan who allowed her creative energy to break free. Plus some of the chapters are very close to my heart and my life experience. I took flak on this from a few who ddn't like my interpretatins of Daniel but I don't care anymore. It is what it is and I hope that a few new people read it and maybe like it. It was posted on Helio2 as Love and Marriage and on AllDanielfic as Confession.

Daniel leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head, and sighed deeply. He allowed his mind to drift aimlessly. Ever since they had returned from their 50-year “odyssey” he had had difficulty concentrating on translating the texts left to his keeping by the Asgard. First of all, he found it a rather simplistic and boring task. The translations, and comprehension came to him easily and with minimal effort leaving the other parts of his brain free to roam. While, he did not entirely understand how he knew it, he felt as if he had read them all before and, he supposed, he probably had. What else would he have occupied his mind with for over 50 years? Sam had, at first, said it was “impossible” for them to retain any of those experiences---that they had not actually happened to them in this reality but even she had begun to have flashbacks. Sometimes, he got flickers of images, like distant memories of early childhood. A smell, a sound, a taste would echo in his unconscious and he would catch snippets of another life. Teal’c had encouraged him to meditate daily in an attempt to “make peace with your unconsciousness” and begin to sort out which memories were “real” and which were from his alternative reality. Teal’c seemed keen to have Daniel, and indeed all of them, remember on their own. Perhaps he sought their memories to ease some of isolation he must undoubtedly feel, as the only one to know the truth. He had to conceal shared experiences, life-altering experiences, from those whom he had come to regard as his family. Everyone was aware that those 50 years had left deep imprints on Teal’c. Everyone knew the sacrifice he had made to save their lives.

And it was clear to them all that Teal’c had struggled to keep his knowledge from them, especially when said knowledge would benefit them in their struggles against the Ori and Ba’al. Thus far, he had assisted Samantha in the retrieval of many of the discoveries made on the Odyssey. At least the scientific ones. Personal issues were another thing altogether. Would he, for example, want to have Cam remember his loss of control and ultimate senility? Or Landry to recall the moment of his death? But, he longed to hear Samantha play her cello again and he longed to see his friend DanielJackson happily in love again.

Daniel, himself, had felt a strange yearning ever since their return. Most days, when he awoke in the morning, he would be surprised to find himself alone, half-expecting to find someone there, warm and gentle, beside him. He would reach out to stroke her hair only to find the pillow empty. He ached at this daily discovery. He began to believe that he had not been alone, that he was not meant to be alone. Had he loved Sam on the Odyssey? No, that couldn’t be right. She was in love with Jack. Forever. Nothing could have tempted her to forsake that love while there was any chance of returning to Earth. But had they given up hope? Had there been such loneliness and need that they had ended up together? For weeks, he had thought of little else. His misgivings growing daily. He decided it was time to press Teal’c for answers.

“Teal’c? Can we talk privately?” Daniel asked after the morning briefing.

“Indeed DanielJackson,” Teal’c bowed his head in assent.

“I know you can’t tell me the details Teal’c, but I need to know the answer to something. Can you tell me if I had a relationship with Samantha while we were on the Odyssey? I mean, it seems unlikely but I can’t shake this feeling that I wasn’t ‘alone’ all that time. You know? Can you tell me what “didn’t” happen without breaking the whole ‘space-time continuum paradox’ or whatever the hell it’s called?”

“DanielJackson, you know I cannot. Search your heart. Does it seem likely that you would be mated with someone whom you have frequently said is like your sister? Would either of you be so lonely that you could betray O’Neil in such a manner? Perhaps the answer can best be found by speaking with SamanthaCarter herself?”

“Great Teal’c. That is SO not going to happen! How would one broach that subject? ‘So Sam, about the 50 year thing, do you have any vague sense of us having betrayed the love of your life and my best friend, and done the horizontal mambo?”

“Although, we did dance, at times, when the mood struck us, I assure you that it was always vertical.”

“Great. You can tell me THAT much, but not the important stuff. Thanks very much!”

“DanielJackson, can I be of further assistance? I have a sparring match scheduled with ColonelMitchell. He has become a worthy opponent” He bowed his head and departed. Daniel did not fail to note the slightly smug air of amusement in the Jaffa’s tone.

Daniel headed back to his office. He might as well get started on the rest of the translations. Sitting down at his cluttered desk, he began pouring over pages of copied inscriptions. Perhaps he could lose himself in them. Lose the emptiness in his aching heart. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked himself aloud only to hear a gasp from behind him.

“Well, that’s a fine greeting Daniel! And I brought you back a gift too!”

Daniel wheeled around on her. “I wasn’t talking to you,” he replied coolly. “What are you doing sneaking up on people anyway? You aren’t even due back for two days!”

“Sand storms darling…we had to abandon the mission for now. I brought you something for your collection…..” she sing-songed.

“What? Some sort of ancient sex-toy again?” Daniel was irritated. Vala was nothing if not predictable.

“Now, now Daniel, didn’t you always want a two thousand year old stone ah….what would you call this thing darling…fallacy symbol?”

“Phallic symbol. This is a statue of the minor Greek god Priapus. He was the protector of livestock. According to legend, Hera cursed him with impotence, ugliness and foul-mindedness while he was still in Aphrodite's womb, in revenge for the hero Paris having the temerity to judge Aphrodite more beautiful than Hera. The other gods refused to allow him to live on Mount Olympus and threw him down to Earth, where he was brought up by shepherds. After a frustrating attempt to make love to a nymph he ended up in a permanent state of arousal, his ah…um…”

“Cock? Dick? Dong? Wanker? Willy? Joystick? One-eyed monster?” offered Vala.

“….penis…. grew so large that he was no longer able to walk. And where did you learn all that human slang? Oh never mind, I don’t think I want to know!” Daniel huffed. “Look Vala, thanks for thinking of me I guess.” He placed the statuette carefully on a shelf. Behind a larger statue. Not turning around, he queried casually, “Did you find out anything important on PX-3214? Any ancient writings, technology we can use? Anything?”

“Nope. Just the same old same old I’m afraid. I missed you though. SG-3 are a surly bunch of goats. No fun at all.” She crept up behind him. “Wanna have some fun Daniel?” Vala murmured silkily and dragged her finger down Daniel’s spine as he continued to re-arrange his bookshelf to make room for little Priapus. Daniel felt a shock wave travelling with her finger. It settled right into his groin.

“Stop that!” he snarled. “How many times do I have to tell you? Not interested! Not now, not ever!”

Vala pressed in against his taut body, allowing her breasts to flatten against his back. He shuddered and sighed deeply. She leaned in and whispered softly, “I believe you have something in common with our frustrated little friend here.”

“Leave me alone Vala,” he hissed.

“Certainly love, I’ll let you get back to your work. You know where to find me.\,” she purred.

Daniel waited until he heard the door latch before turning around. “Shit! What the hell is wrong with you?” he addressed this question to his rock hard “manhood”. “Can’t trust you out there on your own can I?” Daniel felt betrayed by his own body. In all things, he was passionately intellectual. He prided himself on self-control, modesty, and appropriateness. Why then, did his body begin to quiver whenever she was near? She was a thief, a flirt, an intergalactic space vixen! No one could deny her attractiveness or her allure, that was certain. But she was utterly and completely wrong for him. She lived to mock him, tease him. And for what purpose? He was a distraction for her boredom, a plaything. He took a deep breath to calm himself and was assaulted by the exotic, spicy and intoxicating aroma she had left behind. Images flashed into his mind-- her brilliant smile, the sway of her hips as she danced, the lusciousness of her breasts as he buried his face in them., the soft whimpering she made as she climaxed. Daniel’s cock lurched against his BDUs. He was shocked out of his reverie. Was he losing his mind? Fantasizing about Vala Mal Doran? Or, the thought shattered against him, was it a memory? He had to find out but first he needed to calm down his turgid arousal. He decided to busy himself with the backlog of paperwork that Landry was asking for on a daily basis. Nothing like paperwork to banish any thoughts of carnality.

Two hours later, Daniel surfaced and headed to the lab. It was time to see if Sam could shed any light on this “memory” thing. It would have to be a delicate conversation though since she could read him like a book. He entered the lab nonchalantly and, in a detached voice said, “Hey Sam? Any earth-shattering discoveries today?”

“Not yet Daniel,” she laughed, “but I have isolated the cause of that little “rash” we picked up on PX-3211 the other day. Has yours cleared up yet?”

“Pretty much,” he chucked, “still a little blue in places but Dr. Lam says it’s harmless. I should be able to go off-world again in a week.”

“Good. Did SG-3 turn up anything of interest before the sand storms hit?”

“Apparently not, but that’s just Vala’s opinion. I wouldn’t necessarily take it at face value. If it doesn’t glitter, she isn’t much interested in it.”

Sam smiled. “Oh, I’d say she had interest in other things as well. You, for example.”

“My puritan ways amuse her endlessly I’m sure.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘puritan’ Daniel. “Priest-like is a better description!” Sam teased.

“Glad I can amuse you both! No doubt, you share a laugh at my expense all the time. You two are pretty chummy these days.” Daniel was petulant.

“Hold the phone there bucko! Vala and I are becoming good friends. We go to movies, share clothes, go to the beauty salon together. We do NOT sit around discussing YOUR sex life. Not that there IS anything to discuss! Have you even been out on a date in the past 7 years?”

“Sam, you are hardly the one to comment on my self-imposed celibacy! How long did your torment yourself about Jack? 8 years?”

“Daniel, I was hardly celibate during the entire period in case you have forgotten! I tried to move on. When I finally faced the truth, I went to him.” Sam drifted off with a dreamy look in her eyes. “And let me tell you, it was worth the wait.”

“Eewwww! Too much information Sam. You are like, well, kind of like a sister to me…I do NOT want to imagine….” he trailed off, suddenly aware that he had definitely not been with Samantha on the Odyssey. “Sam, do you ever have ‘visions’ of stuff that feels like a memory but in your rational mind, you know it never happened?”

“You mean like the stuff that happened on the ship for all those years? Well actually, yeah. I am writing a report on it in fact. Not sure if it will land in any Physics journals any time soon though since time-travel and alternative realities aren’t considered even theoretically possible. I do however find the whole thing fascinating. I have even coined a term for it. ‘Inter-temporal psychic residue’.”

“Sounds like waxy build-up,” Daniel chuckled, “got any furniture polish?”

“Ha ha. So funny. Anyway, it’s all a tad confusing since the reality is, we all have some residue hanging around and that should be theoretically impossible. The whole thing begs the question, ‘Do we have souls’? And until lately, I thought that was pretty much nonsense. But since, none of those 50 years technically ever happened, how can we have memories of them? It shouldn’t be possible.”

“Do yours come as random flashes that feel like they happened a long long time ago?”

“Yeah. Kind of like still photographs in an old photo album.”

“Are the others having these episodes of ‘psychic residue’?”

“Yep. Landry isn’t talking much but he seems to think his sudden interest in botany has its ah...'roots' on the Odyssey.”

Daniel smiled at her bad pun. “And Cameron? Anything?”

“Less. He mostly has strange feelings of being trapped and says he feels angry at odd moments. Teal’c has been helping him move beyond it with what I am calling ‘combat therapy’. Seems to be helping.”

Daniel wondered what term she would coin for his problem. “Well, it seems we are all having some issues.”

“I can play the cello.”

“Since when?”

“I don’t know. I just had to buy one and when I took it home, I could play it. And pretty well too. Jack says the songs are all too sad. He bought me some silly Irish jig music. It was for the violin though. Keeps asking me if I want to ‘fiddle’ with him.” She was getting that look again.

“Sam!”

“Oh sorry Daniel. I just can’t seem to focus on anything but him lately. It feels like YEARS since we’ve been together. I can’t get enough of him.”

“Again with the icky factor…Stop it!”

“Sorry. You know Daniel, you haven’t asked about Vala. Aren’t you interested in whether she is suffering any waxy build-up?”

“Not particularly,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the lab.

“You are an open book Daniel!”  
Daniel pivoted and walked back through the open door. “What are you talking about?” he queried, an edge of hostility in his voice.

“You came here to find out what Vala remembers or to discuss with me what it is that you remember. I’ve known you for too long to fall for your weak attempts at subterfuge. It amazes me that you are able to go undercover on alien planets as often as you have. You,” she poked him in the chest, “are incapable of hiding your feelings. And what’s more, Vala knows it.”

“Oh, like she’s suddenly a fucking expert on what makes me tick! She couldn’t care less about me. I amuse her. And she wants someone to fuck. A stallion and a lap dog rolled into one. Like one of Qetesh’s sex-slaves. And what do I do about it? Nothing. I stand around like some fucking nerdy teenager with a perpetual hard-on. But, I won’t allow myself to be used as a warm-blooded vibrator. No matter how many years since….since….” he broke off suddenly, chest heaving violently. Sam was thunderstruck. Daniel stifled a sob and turned away from Sam’s incredulity.

“Holy Hannah Daniel! Maybe you aren’t that transparent after all!” She reached out her hand and touched his shoulder gently. She wanted to take him into her arms, a sudden maternal instinct gripping her gut. He was so sad. She knew he was lonely, but she had no idea of the depth of his self-loathing and despair. Why didn’t she know this before? She silently chastised herself for not having been a better friend. Jack had hinted at it as the main reason why Daniel had chosen to ascend. Daniel was tired and so very profoundly alone. And he had been since the day his parents were crushed in that museum accident.

“Daniel, you and Vala are so much alike. There is such pain in you both. So much loss. You hide behind your intellect and books and selflessness. She hides behind her outrageous bravado. You know she does. Why don’t you ask her what she ‘remembers’ about those 50 years that never happened?”

“Yes Daniel, why don’t you ask me?” Vala said fiercely from the doorway.

Sam took this as her cue and began to leave but Daniel was out the door ahead of her, pushing past Vala and half-sprinting down the corridor towards his private quarters. Vala didn’t follow.

“How much of that did you over-hear Vala?” Sam asked quietly.

“I was coming in to ask you if you wanted to go to that new Thai restaurant in town for a nice long lunch. I got here in time to hear Daniel’s tirade. Apparently, I am still a host for Qetesh and want a lap-stallion or something like that? Oh and, he thinks I don’t give a damn about him.”

“He’s in agony. I had no idea. He is so fragile Vala. If you hurt him, he will never recover. I have to ask you to be honest with me here okay?”

“Okay. Total honesty. I can do that.”

“Do you love him?”

Vala took a deep breath, taking time to answer. “Yes. From the moment I first laid eyes on him. It scares me to death.”

“Vala, Daniel doesn’t do ‘casual’ and he plays for keeps. If you pursue this, you can’t suddenly take off on some inter-stellar treasure hunt. Consider it carefully and if you can’t be here long term then I am begging you to leave him alone.”

Vala was contemplative and quiet. “Hey, aren’t you assuming that he even wants me? I drive him nuts! We are totally wrong for each other in his mind. He rejects every overture I make. I don’t know how to even start with him.”

“Stop trying so hard.”

Vala left Sam’s office and walked slowly down the long corridor leading to his room. Daniel had his own apartment of course but still practically lived at the base anyway during the week. She reached his door and tried to still the tumult of butterflies in her stomach. She knocked quietly. He opened the door and stepped to the side, silently granting her access. She waited for him to speak.

“What’s on your mind Vala? You here to gloat or what? What do you want Vala? WHAT?”

Vala stood in front of him, reached up and gently kissed him. “You.” Daniel grabbed her by the shoulders and somewhat roughly pushed her away. Dejectedly, she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Seriously Vala, what do you expect me to do? Throw you on the bed and ravish you? Not going to happen!”

“Why not Daniel? It’s what you and I both want.”

“No, it’s what you want. What am I supposed to say Vala? Start some deep meaningful dialogue with you about our mutual attraction and how ridiculous it would be for us to satisfy our baser curiosity and fall into bed? Do you want me to list the reasons why I can NEVER allow myself to give in to you?”

“It would be a start I guess,” Vala said softly.

“Okay. Well for starters, for starters…” he trailed off. Daniel paced the room manically, running his hands through his hair and holding his head. “Jeez Vala! For starters, you scare the shit out of me. You’re all like ‘sexed up’ around me and…and…like ‘expectant’ about how great it would be and well, you know…I’ve only ever been with two women. Three if you count Hathor, which by the way, I so totally do not. The first, Sarah, I lost because I was an indifferent jerk, more interested in ancient wall drawings and dried up corpses than the living breathing, girl who loved me. The second was my wife. For a long time, I thought I would never get over her death. It’s taken me years and now…now that I am finally ready to maybe open myself up to someone else? You come along, with your leather cat suit and pink fluffy handcuffs…and God, Vala we are so opposite and wrong for each other and you want to know the truth? You know that. And so ex-cuuse me for not taking you up on your offers of meaningless sex. And, if I did, in an alternate existence, maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were stuck there for 50 years. We aren’t those two people Vala. No matter how much we might wish it.” Daniel stopped then, breathing heavily, his back towards her.

“You want to know what I think Daniel?” Vala whispered hoarsely. “I think you are a horse’s ass. But you’re right about one thing though. We aren’t those people who fell in love on the Odyssey and grew old together. And, by the way, that’s how I remember in the far recesses of my “inter-temporal” scrapbook. Not meaningless sex. But now, in this reality, I think that we need to work very hard to erase whatever “residue” that still clings to our unconscious mind or ‘soul’ or whatever the hell you people want to call it. I, for one, will invest in an industrial sized scrub-brush and get to work right now!” She stood up on shaky legs and headed for the door. She stopped and turned, “And you know what else? You know what else? How DARE you presume to know what was in my heart when I made those offers! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I might be scared shitless of you? Of the power you seem to hold over me? That maybe, just maybe, the only way I could offer my heart to you was to wrap it up in the protection of innuendo and flirtation so that your rejection wouldn’t eviscerate my already wasted, battered soul? I am an open wound Daniel. So excuse me for seeking shelter in your arms. Excuse me for hoping against hope, month after month, that you would finally understand the truth…”she was sobbing now. “Consider my offer rescinded. I won’t bother you again. In any lifetime.”

And then she was gone, not even bothering to slam the door. Daniel stood dumbstruck, in an oppressive silence, allowing the power of her words to penetrate. She was in love with him. She was actually in love with him. Even before the Odyssey. How could he have been such a fool? And now, it wasn’t him that was a pile of wreckage as he had feared, it was her. “Congratulations asshole,” he said aloud, “you’ve destroyed any chance of your own happiness.” He flopped down on his bed and covered his face with his hands.

The next morning he awoke with a start having been shocked into awareness by the sensation of Vala’s lips on his own. He distinctly heard, “Hey sleepyhead….we can’t spend all day in bed!” He sat bolt upright, heart racing, but he was alone. “Just great! Exactly the kind of torture I deserve.” He needed to talk to someone about ridding himself of these random fragments of memory.

Just then, there was a knock at the door and he sprang to answer it, “Vala?” he asked hopefully as he threw the door open. It was Teal’c.

“ValaMalDoran is in the commissary DanielJackson should you wish to see her. She seems to be quite unlike herself this morning. I have not seen her thus before. It is as if,” he struggled for the correct words, “her life force has been ‘extinguished’ somehow. I can only imagine that it is you who are somehow responsible?”

“Why would you make that assumption?’

“Your expectation that it would be she at the door. The expression of guilt I observe in your face. The fact that she spent the night crying in the room adjacent to my own.”

“Oh.”

Teal’c continued, “The fact that all who know you and Vala are aware that it is you, and only you, that could have perpetrated this much damage on her.”

“Everyone knows about this?”

“Indeed. And I think I speak for all of us, when I say that you, DaneilJackson, are an incomprehensibly bovine, resolutely immoveable, insufferable, simple-minded, squinting Ha'taaka.”

Daniel flinched as each word hit him like a fist. Reeling, he looked into his friend’s face. It betrayed no anger despite the aggression of his words. “Am I likely to get the shit kicked out of me if I venture out of my room?”

“I cannot speak for others, but I assure you that if you do not rectify this situation within the hour, you will have much to settle with me.”

“Okaaaay then. I’d better get a move on.”

“Indeed.”

Vala was sitting at a table in the corner of the commissary, Sam’s arm around her shoulders. Daniel could see that her shoulders were shaking and it would have been obvious that she was crying, even had he not heard it from across the room. He summoned up his resolve and edged nervously across the room. The commissary emptied quickly and noiselessly, save for a number of mutterings of the word “asshole” when he brushed past. Sam turned around to look at him and shot him the most disgusted look imaginable.

She stood and walked toward him. “Fix this,” she muttered through clenched teeth. “Ya got it?”

“Yep. Got it. Teal’c explained it all quite thoroughly.”

Daniel quietly approached Vala and slid into the chair next to her. At a loss for what he was supposed to do, he simply whispered, “Hey there.” There was no response but the sobbing abated somewhat. Daniel covered Vala’s hand with his own and waited while her composure slowly returned.

She sighed brokenly, “Hey yourself.”

“So…”

“So? So what?”

“So, you wanna talk about it?”

“You’re kidding me right?”

“No, I was serious. We should talk about it.”

“Talk about what exactly?”

“You and me. Us. What to do next. Whether you can ever forgive me…”

Vala turned her tear-stained face towards him and looked quizzically at him. “Forgive you for what? For telling me how much of an idiot I’ve been? For setting me straight about what you truly feel for me? What exactly do you feel sorriest about? If anything, you’ve done me a favour. I know exactly where I stand now and once I get this emotional backdraft under control, I will be fine. We can go back to being colleagues, professionals. Hell, we might even get to be positively ‘cordial’ again. Not to worry darling, you’re off the hook.”

“I hurt you Vala. You offered me more than I could ever hope for, more than I deserve. You humble me.”

 

“I love you Daniel. Always have. Always will. But it isn’t enough. And that’s okay.” She started to sniffle again, “Let’s just move on okay? I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine and neither am I. And for the record, I don’t think I’m ready to move on quite yet,” he reached out to touch her cheek, wiping a stray tear away with his thumb. He cupped her face in his hand and pulled her gently forward, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. And then another. She moaned and intensified the kiss catching his bottom lip between her teeth. This seemed to unhinge Daniel and he pushed her lips apart with his tongue and hungrily devoured her mouth. She moaned again, pressing herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Suddenly she was on his lap, legs wrapped around his waist hands tangled in his hair. His tongue twisted with hers.

“Oh my god,” she thought, “he is heavenly!”

A thunderstorm tore through Daniel’s body. How long had he wanted this? The aching need? “She’s undone me,” he thought and a deep growl escaped from him He was in real danger of coming right there and then. He pushed her back, gasping for air but the sight of her, eyes closed coupled with her languid body in his arms moved him almost to tears. “God, Vala…you are so beautiful.”

He kissed her eyelids softly, and began nuzzling her neck, trailing kisses, lightly sucking an earlobe, running his tongue across her pulse point. She threw back her head and gasped for air, “Daniel?”

“Mmmm…”

“Daniel…” He caught her mouth again teasing her with the tip of his tongue against her sensitive lips. “Daniel….”

He groaned passionately and pressed her bottom into his groin. She marvelled at the feel of his stiff cock pressed into her and laughed wickedly.

“Daniel….mmmmm….ah….” She rubbed herself against him. “We have to ah….move this…..to a mmmmmm…more private location.” Daniel stopped rocking against her suddenly.

“Crap, where the hell are we anyway?”

“We’re on a steel chair in the commissary darling. You were telling me how sorry you were and I’ve been accepting your apology.”

Daniel smiled at her, a smile so sweet, so utterly open…she had never seen him smile like that. In fact, it was so rare to see him even smirk that it very nearly unseated her from his lap. She laughed then, and licked the tip of his nose playfully. “We are gathering an audience I’m afraid so how ‘bout I slide back into my own chair and we sit here quietly until your light sabre calms down a bit.”

Daniel laughed at that and whispered into her ear, “Not quite a light sabre. Don’t get your hopes up too high sweetheart.” He nibbled her neck, “You are positively edible, you luscious…delectable…”

“Daniel, seriously…I’m getting off you now. Calmly now….”

They sat side by side for the better part of an hour, she with her head on his shoulder. He, holding her as closely as he dared, twirling her hair absently in his fingers. No words seemed necessary. The commissary gradually filled with people again but no one joined them. From across the room, Teal’c, Sam and Mitchell observed unnoticed. “Is this going to work out?” asked Cam. “I mean, how the hell is this going to play out when we’re on a mission?”

“The ancient Greeks encouraged lovers to fight side by side ColonelMitchell. It made them fearsome warriors indeed. They were virtually unbeatable but would fight till the death to defend their partner if need be.”

“Teal’c. That was a little bit different,” Sam interjected. “They were all men.”

“I fail to see the difference,” Cameron snapped a tad too defensively.

“Indeed.” Teal’c was smiling knowingly.

“You’re right. No difference,” Sam was contrite now. “Let’s just hope we never get to test out your theory about ‘fighting to the death’. That isn’t on my agenda.”

“Daniel, where do we go from here? I’m not sure how you Tau’ri handle the whole male-female pair bonding customs.”

“Well, normally we wouldn’t have flirted for almost two years before going out on a date but having said that, I was thinking maybe we should ‘go steady’ for a while.”

“What is that exactly?”

“Well, we go out on dates. You’d be my, well I guess the right term is ‘girlfriend’ and I’d be your…”

“BOYFRIEND?” Vala jumped in enthusiastically. “Like in those movies Sam insists I watch with her all the time. What does she call them again? Chiclets?”

“Chick flicks.” Daniel laughed at her good-naturedly. “You really are adorable, you know.”

“Daniel Jackson is my boyfriend,” she giggled. “It’s rather sweet actually. Well, except I am not a ‘girl’ anymore and judging by your earlier behaviour, you aren’t a little boy anymore either!”

Daniel pulled her closer and breathed in the delicate scent of Vala’s hair. “You smell like sunshine.” Vala felt her insides somersault.

“Daniel, we need to make a move. We are actually supposed to be working. You know, you bury your head in dusty tomes of ancient nonsense and I bounce around annoying you and translating the odd Goa’uld manuscript to earn my keep.”

“Whatever. It’s not going  
anywhere.”

“True. But I promised Sam I would help her in the lab this morning. We can meet up later. I’ll drop by your office say around noon?”

“Vala Mal Doran, would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?”

“Like a real date this time?”

“Yes,” he rose from the table at last, “I will pick you up at 7:00.” He bent down and kissed the top of her head lightly. “Wear something pretty.”

Minutes later, Vala bounded into the lab. Her hair was back in pigtails and she was positively radiant. Sam looked up from her microscope grinning, “Judging by your demeanour and the slightly pornographic make-out session I had the misfortune of witnessing, you and Daniel are ready to play nice again?”

“Yes ma’am. We are going steady!”

“How quaint. Only Daniel would use such an antiquated term. No one on this planet has used that expression in 50 years!”

“He is quite simply the most delicious man I have ever kissed. He smells like sandalwood and sex Sam. I almost took him right there in the commissary.”

“Okay. Ground rules Vala.”

“Okey dokey…”

“First, no more public displays of affection. Not appropriate. No one wants to see that. Some of us are still trying to burn the image out of our minds. Second, do NOT share the details of how ‘delicious’ Daniel is. He’s like a brother to me, and well, let’s just say that on earth…there’s a real creepiness factor when it comes to hearing about your brother’s sex life from his girlfriend. Okay?”

“Got it. Keep things private. Can I still float around here with a satisfied look on my face?”

“If you must”

“Well, whenever you and the General ‘do the deed’, you walk around here like a cat that’s just finished a decidedly large and scrumptious bowl of cream. Everyone jokes about it.”

“Great. Just what I wanted to hear. Let’s get to work. Can you start by continuing to catalogue those gate addresses the Asgard gave us? See if you recognize any of them from your days with the Goa’uld.”

They worked on. Vala, for once, was glad for the silence and didn’t find it uncomfortable. She scanned page after page of gate addresses, putting asterisks beside the few she had heard of or been to, sometimes writing the name of a planet in the margin. When she was relying on the ‘cellular’ memory of Qetesh’s multiple lifetimes, she found it best to let herself drift into a state of semi-meditation. That way, she was able to avoid flashes of the various atrocities she had committed on each of them. She was startled then, when she heard Sam’s voice cut in to her contemplation. “Huh? Did you say something Samantha?”

“I asked you what you were planning on wearing on your first real date with Daniel. Where’s he taking you?”

Vala was a tad confused about earth customs. First Samantha had practically ordered her not to talk about Daniel and now she was fishing for details? People were so complicated on this planet. They rarely seemed to know what they wanted. Nevertheless, she welcomed the chance to indulge in some old-fashioned girl talk. “He told me to wear something pretty. I am not even sure what that means around here? How much skin can one show and still be considered ‘pretty’ anyway?”

“Well, in cases like these, more coverage is better. Do you have something figure hugging but not revealing?”

“I had that blouse I wore on our first dinner outing but it didn’t survive the kidnapping and torture. Otherwise I have the leather cat suit, the revealing dress I wore to Cameron's reuinion, a couple of pairs of jeans, the black sweater that you gave me, a lot of t-shirts in various shades of black and grey and of course a whole closet of these charming green things. Oh, and forest and dessert camo-wear. And a fair bit of sexy little lingerie from that store that Victoria keeps secret.”

Sam smiled widely. “You can’t wear those out to a decent restaurant. Exactly when is he picking you up?”

“7:00 tonight but I am meeting him for lunch at noon in his office.”

“We’ll stop by on our way out of here and cancel the lunch date. We have shopping to do!”

An hour later, they were in a rather posh dress shop downtown. A woman named Barbara was handing dress after dress to Vala to hold as she marched around the shop with Sam and Vala in tow. “With your raven hair and porcelain skin, we need to go with a saturated colour, nothing too dark though, definitely NOT black!”

“What’s wrong with black? Most of my wardrobe, such as it is, is black!”

“Burn it then. I would suggest you stick with jewel tones. Here…try this,” she ordered, tossing another dress at Vala.

“Let’s try these on before we add any more to the pile shall we?” Sam suggested, practically dragging Vala towards the fitting rooms. “Try the purple one first, it’s my favourite.” Moments later Vala appeared sheepishly from the room. “Holy smokes Vala, that’s killer! Daniel doesn’t stand a chance!”

“I like the fabric. What’s it called?”

The sales woman looked incredulous. “Have you never worn silk before?”

“She’s not from around here,” Sam interjected before Vala could offer up an answer.

The dress was a simple style. Sleeveless, with a V-neck that hinted at cleavage but didn’t reveal any. The bodice was form fitting but the skirt was full and slightly puffy, stopping just above the knee. It made a fabulous, slightly crunchy sounding ‘swoosh’ when she walked. Vala smiled at her self in the mirror. “What do you think Sam? Will Daniel think this is pretty?”

“Ah, when he comes to after he passes out! First of all, your body looks fabulous in it. Your long legs will drive him to distraction, especially if we pick up a nice pair of high heels when we’re finished here. You need only minimal jewellery. You have tons of necklaces that would look great. Wear your hair long but pulled off your neck. He’ll be a goner Vala. Assuming of course that you want to knock his socks off of course!”

Vala smiled wickedly and shot a bemused look at Sam’s reflection behind her. “Oh, he can leave those on if he wants.” The women descended into giggles. Even the sales woman joined in.

“Let me put the rest of these dresses back honey. That’s the one! Don’t even bother trying on any others. Let me show you a wrap that would go perfectly with this dress so that you won’t get chilly tonight. Even in July, there can be a bit of a chill in the evening.”

From there, they hit the shoe store and found some black patent, strappy sandals and a small handbag to complete the look. On the way back to base, Sam asked her, “Do you have the right stuff to wear underneath? We didn’t even think about that! It’s already 5:30!”

“Not to worry Sam. Underwear is my speciality.”

At exactly 7:00, Daniel knocked softly on Vala’s door. He had taken some care in his attire, opting for a dark blue suit and azure blue shirt. He didn’t know of course how beautiful his large blue eyes appeared when he wore blue. Sam had caught a glimpse of him as he left his quarters and even she had to stop and catch her breath. The man was spectacularly handsome, made even more so by the fact that he seemed to be the only one who didn’t know that. He had flashed her a nervous smile, waved sheepishly, and skidded away quickly, clearly self-conscious.

Vala called from within, “Come in Daniel, I’m just about ready.” Daniel stood in the doorway unsure of whether to sit on the bed or stand in place. He opted for the standing, feeling awkward and slightly stupid as he waited. She stepped out of the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks. “My God Daniel, you look amazing.” She had to grab for the wall to steady her knees, which had suddenly gone weak.

He closed his eyes and gulped air. “Vala, I swear I have never seen you look this beautiful. You take my breath away.” He shoved his hands into his pockets causing his jacket to ride up the sides. Realizing this, he took them out again feeling silly and more nervous than he thought possible. “What the hell do I do with my hands?” he silently reproached himself. He felt frozen in time.

Thankfully, Vala sensed his dilemma and strode confidently towards him taking his hand and opening the door behind him at the same time. “So, where are you taking me anyway?” A wicked smile crossed her face as she contemplated him taking her right there against the wall.

“Dinner. I’m taking you to dinner,” Daniel answered stupidly.

“Where darling? You know, the location in time and space?”

“Just a little Italian place in town.”

“Will there be dancing?”

“Ah, I doubt it. They have music though. Why, did you want to go dancing?”

“There’s lots of dancing in those movies that Sam makes me watch. I thought it was part of your dating rituals here.”

Daniel chuckled and draped his arm around her shoulders. “I’m not much of a dancer Vala. Ask my prom date.”

“What in heaven’s name is a prom date?”

Daniel explained as they rode the elevator up to the surface. “I parked in the side lot. It isn’t far.” He nodded to the guard at the gate as they passed by and didn’t fail to notice that he was definitely checking out the gorgeous woman on his arm. “Don’t wait up Corporal Taylor!” he shouted back good-humouredly.

“Oooh, I like the sound of that darling,” Vala purred into his ear. They ambled on towards the car talking about nothing in particular. Daniel opened the passenger door for her and kissed her hand gallantly before he closed it for her. It wasn’t a long drive to the restaurant but Vala babbled enthusiastically as they sped along, peppering Daniel with questions about the mechanics of driving and the meanings of each road sign they encountered.

“Haven’t you been in a car literally hundreds of times? Why the inquisition now?”

“I never asked because I thought it would seem silly that I could fly space ships but didn’t understand the pedals in this beast! You won’t laugh at me. Well at least not much anyway. I asked Cameron once but he said, ‘Driving a car requires concentration” and I took that as a polite way of telling me to shut up.”

“Vala, driving does require concentration.”

“Okay,” she giggled. “Message received darling.” She settled back and listened to the music on the radio. Suddenly, she was talking again, “Why are all your planet’s songs about breaking up or longing for love and sex? And who seriously calls someone ‘oooh baby baby’ anyway?”

Daniel laughed out loud and grabbed her hand again. He squeezed it and brought it to his lips. “Oooh baby baby..” he teased. Vala looked sideways at him, a mix of delight and confusion in her eyes. It crossed her mind that she had never seen Daniel like this. She leant back, smiling contently. Whatever happened in the future, she was certainly going to enjoy being with this new, relaxed and happy Daniel. For her own part, she had never felt this happy.

“Don’t mess this up,” she cautioned herself. She heard Daniel’s breath catch. “Damn, did I say that in my out loud voice?”

“Yep. Good advice though. Were you talking to me or yourself?”

“Both, I think.”

“Aye, aye, captain. We’re here by the way. You hungry?”

The waiter ushered them to a table in the corner of the small restaurant. Vala was keenly aware of the fact that “all eyes were on them” as they took their seats. She leaned over to whisper in Daniel’s ear, “Every woman in this room wants to be with you, you know.”

“On the contrary, every man in the room wants to be me,” he laughed. “They are wondering how a hack like me scored a goddess like you!”

“Hey, I gave up that goddess thing years ago, well at least the false goddess part.”

“Well, I plan on worshipping at your altar forever, if you’ll have me of course.”

Vala felt the heat rising to her cheeks and then flushing back down to other regions as rapidly. “Now, whose breath is getting taken away?”

“Vala, I’ve been such a fool,” Daniel began regretfully. “I’m still terrified of you, you know.” She reached out for his hand reassuringly.

“Yes, I know. We’ve fought enemies that have enslaved whole galaxies; hell, we’ve both died a couple of times in the process,” she laughed softly. “Saved the universe, how many times now? I think it’s a least three for you isn’t it? Been imprisoned, tortured, burned…” she shuddered, “but we’re frightened by the best thing we’ve ever found?”

“Can I take your order sir?” the waiter interrupted.

“Order for me please, will you Daniel? I don’t’ know what’s good here.”

Daniel ordered them a bottle of red wine and some sort of pasta dish. He barely even noticed the taste as he ate, partly because of the nervous giddiness he felt and partly because of the way Vala mouthed her fork suggestively with each bite. He drank very little and not only because he was driving although that was part of it. He had a nice bottle waiting for them back at his place, if that’s where they ended up. Daniel steadied himself against the thought as a mix of excitement and terror ran through him.

“Daniel?”

 

“Uh-huh…”  
“Where are you drifting off to?”

“Sorry sweetheart, back now.”

“I asked you if you wanted to stay here for dessert.”

“The crème brûlée is really good here, although technically it’s a French dessert. You’ll like it.”

“Okay then,” she turned to the waiter, “bring us two of those and some…coffee Daniel?”

“Yep. Sounds great,” he said absently. He was busy contemplating the milky smoothness of her neck and mentally kissing her breasts. She caught his eyes and held his gaze noting the darkening of his blue eyes as he looked into hers. The passion was unmistakable.

“Maybe, I shouldn’t have ordered dessert Daniel,” she mused. “But you looked hungry to me.”

“Oh, I am,” he leaned across the table to kiss her softly. “I most certainly am in the mood to eat something sweet.”

The dessert arrived, then the bill and before he knew it, they were back at the car.

“Where to now?” she asked quietly.

“I thought we’d go dancing.”

“But you don’t like dancing Daniel.”

“I have a special place in mind. It’s quiet and the music’s good,” he replied cryptically. They drove on in silence. She felt inexplicably nervous. She really didn’t know how to dance, or at least not the way these Tau’ri did it.

Daniel slowed the car and turned into a parking garage. “Daniel, this doesn’t look like one of the dancing establishments in Sam’s movies.”

“It isn’t. This is where I live. Well, when I ‘m not at the mountain. Actually, I only started staying on base at night when you arrived and joined SG-1. Like I said earlier, I’ve been a fool.”

“Do you have a dancing establishment in your building?” Vala was still confused.

“Not in the way you think, no.”

He parked the car and helped her out, not letting go of her hand as they walked towards the elevator. “I’m on the 10th floor,” he told her. She nodded. When they reached the floor, he led her to the right door. “Okay, it’s not that ‘organized’ in there. I never finished unpacking when I moved.” He fiddled with his keys nervously, missing the keyhole at least three times before he finally got the key in.

“How long have you lived here?”

“4 years, but I’ve been busy and well, we’re hardly ever on the planet so it’s really only about 2 years of actually living in it.”

“Daniel?”

“Yes.”

“Quit stalling.”

“Right. In we go.” He pushed the door open and let her go in first.

“I’ll just get the light…” he reached behind her to the switch on the wall. Vala had already kicked her shoes off and was excitedly looking around. He dropped his suit jacket on a chair and took off his tie.

“I love it! It’s got windows! Ooh…and a kitchen. Daniel, you have almost nothing in this fridge. And there’s a dining room too! She flounced about like a child in a toy store.

“And, this is the living room.” He switched on one of the table lamps giving the room a soft yellow glow. She padded around the room barefoot. “And this,” he said pulling back the curtains, “is the balcony.” Vala shot past him and slid the door open and rushed outside. She breathed in the fresh air and looked up at the sky. Daniel was content to let her be for a few minutes and fumbled with the stereo trying to find some nice dancing music. He fumbled with the CDs until he noticed there was a note on the player. It was Sam’s handwriting, “Daniel, just press play”. He silently vowed to get his keys back from her. The music began; a nice jazz song, and he smiled and headed out to the balcony.

“There you are,” she said in a low tone, without even turning around. “Come tell me which stars are your favourites.” He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re chilly, why don’t you come inside? I put some music on.”

She followed him back inside quietly. “Now, let me show you how we like to dance on earth. I’m not very good but I’m willing to give it a shot.” A new song began and he took her into his arms. The music had a Spanish guitar opening and then the lyrics began. He took her into his arms and began to sway to the music with her. The lyrics began, “I have been blind, unwilling to see the true love you're giving. I have ignored every blessing. I'm on my knees confessing that I feel myself surrender  
each time I see your face.” God Sam, you understand me better than you think, he thought ruefully. I have been wrong about you. Thought I was strong without you.  
For so long nothing could move me.  
For so long nothing could change me.  
Vala sighed deeply and put her head in the space between his shoulder and neck, nuzzling slightly. You are the air that I breathe. You're the ground beneath my feet.  
When did I stop believing? Daniel felt a rush of emotion and he shuddered slightly. Vala pressed herself more tightly against his chest. They stayed this way, dancing slowly to the music for two more songs before Vala stopped moving, and pushed back a little, looking up into his eyes and smiling wistfully.

“I like this danicng thing,” she snaked her arms up around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair before she pulled him down into a deep kiss. Her tongue explored his mouth eagerly and the passion grew steadily. She pulled away catching his bottom lip in her teeth as she did so. “but, I like kissing you a lot more.”

He replied by lifting her chin and kissing her again, long and deep. A small groan escaped him and he pulled her body even closer to him, reaching down and grabbing her rear end as he did so. Her response was to grind ever so slightly against his body, enjoying the feel of his growing erection against her. They stood in place, savouring the sensation. He felt her nippples harden against his chest and smiled while he kissed her. His hands roamed freely across her back, stroking it, fondling her ass. He broke off the kiss and began nibbling her neck, almost frantically, kissing and licking every square inch of flesh. She moaned from somewhere deep inside her, and threw her head back in pleasure.

She grabbed his head, aggressively and smashed her lips into his. His hands found the zipper of her dress and slowly slid it down. And then his hands were on her flesh and she spasmed with the sensation. She broke from his embrace and took a step back, allowing the dress to fall to the ground, before stepping out of it. His eyes traversed her body as she stood before him. She was wearing a pink lace bra and matching thong. He noted the little black ribbon details as he took her glory in. “God Vala,” he moaned, “You’re exquisite.” She reached behind and undid her bra and tossed it to the floor before tugging him towards her by his belt. She ran her other hand up the length of his body and pulled him into another hot and wet kiss. “Bed,” he growled deeply, “Now.” He picked her up and she wrapped her long legs around his waist. He carried her to his bedroom and dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed. She leaned back on her elbows and looked up at him wildly.

Smiling wickedly, she murmured thickly, “Whatya gonna do with me Dr. Jackson?”

He kicked off his shoes and socks and practically tore off his shirt and pants but left the boxers on. He leaned over her and moved onto the bed. On all fours with her underneath him, he answered throatily, “I told you earlier. I’m in the mood for something sweet.”

He began to slowly kiss her naked body beginning at her neck and moving slowly down to her breasts. He captured one nipple in his mouth and gently teased it with his tongue while he cupped her other breast in his hand and dragged his thumb back and forth across the puckered tip. Vala cried out in little puppy noises and arched her back towards his mouth. He smiled, “You like that do you? Good to know” and he reaached a hand down to cup her pubic mound. He stroked her through her panties, while ministering between her two breasts. She bucked against his hand and moaned his name.

“Daniel…please…”

“What do you want Vala? I’m a little busy right now,” he murmered around her heaving breast. He eased his way down to her hips and slowly peeled away her underwear exposing her completely. He slipped his fingers between her hot, slick folds and explored her thoroughly, casually dragging a finger across her throbbing clitoris and slipping inside her. Finding the spot inside that he was looking for, he set about strumming it slowly. She arched off the bed, grinding herself into him and clutching wildly at his head.

“Want you Daniel…want you.”

He spread her folds and dragged his tongue across her clit again. “Want me to do what darling? This?” He buried his face in her and began to lick and suck her greedily. “So sweet. So wet. Mmmmm.” She bucked again and cried out. She was so close. He intensified his efforts, gathering her entire clit into his mouth and sucking gently while he slipped two fingers into her and stroked. She began a low growling scream that built in intensity and volume before he felt her tumbling into ecstasy. She came hard against his mouth spraying her juices all over his face. Now that was something new for him. He’d heard that some women ejaculated but…God, he’d never been this turned on in his life.

Vala was lost, breathless and unable to speak. Her eyes were wet with tears and a flood of emotion overtook her. She began to cry…great sobs of pleasure and abandon flooding her.

“Are you okay baby?” he asked, becoming concerned.

“I’m better than okay Daniel. I’ve never been this ‘okay’ before in my life.” She kissed him hard then and rolled him over on his back, straddling him. She slid down the length of his body, practically tearing his boxers off. She grabbed his erection and stroked it up and down. She stopped and looked at it admiringly, “Daniel, this is indeed an impressive light sabre.”

He slapped her lighly on her bottom and laughed heartily. “Glad you like it. Feel free to express your approval in any way you wish.” She complied by taking him suddenly and completely into her mouth. He clutched at the sheet frantically. “Holy fuck…” he practically shouted. She smiled around his surging cock and delicately dragged her teeth up its shaft before beginning to lick around the head in earnest. Daniel grabbed her head and wound his fingers through her hair. She continued to stroke him with her hand around the base and moved her mouth up and down over the head, tongue always in motion. Each time Daniel got close to the edge, she would stop for a moment to quell him, before beginning again to build him towards release.

“Vala..baby…please….need you…please…”

“Need me where darling?” she straddled him again. “Here?” She inched upwards and kissed him gently, “Here?”

“Yeah…and…” he gently flipped her onto her back, “here..”

She spread her legs and wrapped them around him allowing him entrance into her. He pressed in gently planning on entering her slowly but she grabbed his ass and pushed him deep into her all at once. They both moaned and he thought he would come right then but he steadied himself and began to move slowly. She was so hot and wet. So tight.

“God Daniel, there’s a lot of you to take in isn’t there?”

“Is there now?” he whispered in her ear. “Should I stop?”

She clamped down on his cock and pulled him even deeper. “I’ll make room,” she growled.

They began to move together, slowly at first but she quiekened the pace and he happily complied. He kissed her full lips and watched her face as her pleasure mounted again. “So beautiful…” he moaned and drove into her more anad more forcefully.

She yelped in pleasure with each thrust, “Oh..oh…oh god..”

“You’re a noisy little girl aren’t you?” he teased, punctuating each syllable with a powerful push. She writhed underneath him, legs around him, hands clawing at his back.

“Shut up and fuck me harder,” she snarled ferally. He pounded into her and she could feel herself slipping over the edge again and again, multiple waves hitting her over and over again. He held onto her with powerful arms wrapped around her and rode the crest of her pleasure, into his own.

He heard a loud groan of completion escaping from somewhere deep within him and then he exploded into her, conscious thought gone in the onslaught of wave after wave of bliss. It seemed to last for hours and she held on tightly to his thrashing body. At last it subsided and they lay there, he still inside her, gasping for air, lungs heaving as delicate aftershocks ran through them. They didn’t’ move. Suddenly, she thrust up against him and began to shudder anew as another orgasm rumbled through her. And he was laughing in delight as she came again. “That was unexpected,” he teased as she pulled him into a sweet kiss.

“You’ve no idea Daniel,” she said choking back tears again. “Never happened like this before.” She began to cry, sobs wracking her body.

“Sssshh, it’s okay baby. Sshhh..” Daniel held her close and stroked her hair. “It’s okay…” She slowly gained control and the quaking sobs stopped. They lay there in silence, both of them aware that something profound had just happened between them.

As she relaxed into the warmth of his embrace, a thought suddenly occurred to her, “Baby? You called me baby??”

“Sorry darling, it just slipped out. Won’t happen again.”

“No, I like it. It’s good. When on earth…”

“Do as the earthlings do?” he teased.

“Yep. I tell you though Daniel, this earth sex stuff? You are real good at it.”

“It’s all you…baby.”

“Daniel, I…I’ve never…”

“Ssshh. I know. Me neither.” He kissed her slowly, sleepily. “I’m so in love with you.” He hugged her tightly and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daniel reached out to stroke her hair and found the pillow next to him empty. Had last night been some sort of extended dream? The bed was cold. He was alone again. “Naturally,” he said aloud. But then, he smelled freshly brewed coffee and burnt toast wafting in the open door.

“Stupid damn machine! Thousands of years of evolution and these people haven’t figured out how to make a decent toaster. Crap! That’s hot! Oh for crying out loud!” Daniel laughed, got out of bed, pulled on a pair of clean boxers and made his way to the kitchen. She was there, for real, looking adorable in his dress shirt and bare feet. He tried to sneak up on her unnoticed. “Daniel Jackson, I know you’re behind me so don’t think I don’t! I’m pretty sure your toaster is broken.” She pointed to a stack of blackened ‘toast’ on the counter. “Coffee’s not too bad though if I do say so myself.”

Daniel hugged her from behind, “Good morning, now come back to my bed.”

“As tempting as that is, and it really is…we have to…hey! Stop that Daniel!…to get to work. There’s a mission briefing at ten.”

“Mmmm…you smell like charcoal…what time is it anyway?”

“Six-thirty. We need to get me back so I can change before work. I want to avoid having everyone know that I didn’t go home last night.”

Daniel smiled at her sudden modesty, “Well, I couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks and besides, I have this strange need to make it clear to the rest of them that you are off-limits.”

“Grrrr…what are you, a Neanderthal? Why don’t you just drag me into the SGC by my hair?”

“Tried that on the Prometheus if you recall…”

“I kicked your ass!”

“I beg to differ…” he grabbed her and flipped her over his shoulder and carried her back to the bedroom. Throwing her gently on the bed, he jumped on top of her pinning her arms above her head and straddling her.

“I let you win,” she giggled breathlessly only half-heartedly struggling against him. He captured her mouth in a passion-filled kiss. “Is that all you’ve got caveman?” He kissed her hard and forced her mouth open with his tongue. “Mmmm…that’s more like it.” She felt her body begin to melt into his and a smoldering fire began between her legs. “Daniel, as much as I ache for you, we really need to get ready to go.” He was unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing and ignoring her completely. He began stroking her torso cupping a breast in each hand, teasing her nipples to full attention. She moaned and thrust her crotch against his knee.

“You were saying, Vala…something about getting into work?” he murmured in a low tone in her ear. She opened her eyes and looked into his azure eyes, now full of desire. He was fully naked and she wondered when he had taken off those boxers. She looked at him intently. In the light of day, she could fully appreciate his chiseled jaw, broad muscular shoulders, taut chest, narrow hips. “What ARE you staring at Vala?”

“You. Good lord Daniel, you have the body of a Greek god.”

He laughed then, dimples flashing, “Which one, Dionysus?”

“No, he was a drunken slob as I recall. I was thinking more about Adonis. But seriously Daniel, someone should sculpt you in marble.”  
He blushed deeply, which made him even more adorable. “Come here. I have plans for you, my Daniel.”

“Say that again.”

“I have plans for you.”

“No, the other part.”

“My Daniel?”

“That’s the part. I like the sound of that.”

“My Daniel…” She wrapped her legs around him and invited him inside her. “Oh!” she arched her pelvis closer to him as he entered. “My Daniel…”

“Where the hell is Dr. Jackson?” General Landry bellowed. “We’re already up against the clock on this one and now we’re waiting on him.”

“And ValaMalDoran,” Teal’c interjected.

“Yes! Bloody civilians!”

A breathless Vala and Daniel sprinted in and slid into their seats. “Here they are General,” Sam said, “late night Daniel?”

“Something like that Sam,” Daniel said sheepishly.

“Vala, what ARE you wearing?” Vala was dressed in very oversized sweat pants and a drooping t-shirt that said, “My Career is in Ruins” above a picture of Stonehenge. Sam recognized it as one of the many stupid archaeology shirts Jack had given Daniel years ago.

“Oh, you know, comfort is key,” Vala replied in her trademark singsong manner. Teal’c raised an eyebrow and smiled ever so slightly.

“Well now that the two of you have graced us with your presence, can we get on with this? Teal’c and I have a court reserved at the gym.”

“ColonelMitchell is introducing me to another of your many paddle and ball sports. It’s called Squash but I fail to understand how the concept of vegetables in the pumpkin family relates to it.”

“Can we get back to business here?” Landry scolded. “The people of P5R-116 have requested our assistance in brokering a peace treaty to end their civil war. Not an easy task from what I understand, given the deep cultural and religious differences that divide them. Dr. Jackson, can you provide us with some background? I don’t need anymore inter-planetary gaffes this time. It took our best people a week to get Colonel Carter out of that marriage contract once you people accepted the camel.”

“It wasn’t a camel sir. It was more like a llama and we had no idea of its meaning at the time,” Mitchell countered defensively. “My grandma always told me not to look a gift horse in the mouth sir.”

“It wasn’t a horse Colonel,” Teal’c offered.   
“Perhaps the same principle doesn’t apply to llamas.”

“Well, this time we are going in prepared for anything. Dr. Jackson, can you get going please?”  
Daniel began a detailed and long-winded presentation about various elements of the planet’s history, customs, folklore, dialect variables and a seemingly endless slide show.

Sam leaned over and whispered into Vala’s ear, “Now, who looks like the cat that just finished a big bowl of cream.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Vala said innocently.

An hour later, the briefing ended. ‘I don’t know why they call it a ‘briefing’,” grumbled Mitchell to no one in particular, “Daniel is incapable of being brief. Lord, he is boring.” Daniel slid up next to him, having over heard.

“Maybe if you’d paid closer attention to the flora and fauna section of my last report, we could have avoided that incident on P39-301,” Daniel reminded him. “By the way, has the burning sensation disappeared yet?”

“Funny. You’re so funny! Come on Teal’c, I feel like hitting some balls.”  
“Indeed.”

Sam and Vala walked together towards the lab. “I think I’ll go put on something a bit more presentable if you don’t mind Sam? I won’t be long.”

“Vala, perhaps run a brush through your hair at the same time?” Sam teased.

“Hold up Vala,” Daniel called after her, “I’ll walk you to your room.”

“Daniel, we’re ‘on duty’ you know. No funny stuff. I, at least, have a reputation to uphold,” Vala giggled.

“Oh for pity’s sake! Will you two knock it off? Some of us have full stomachs,” Sam chuckled. “See you in the lab ASAP Vala. We have to finish that cataloguing today, before we head off on that mission in the morning.”

“Right. ASAP!”

When Daniel and Vala reached her room, she pulled him inside by the shirt. “Have I ever told you how incredibly sexy you are when you use that laser pointer of yours? Or how wild-eyed you get whenever you talk about ancient dialects and tribal customs? Give a girl a break Daniel, you’ve got me so hot…”

“Vala,” Daniel gently pried her fingers away from around his neck, “seriously, we have to keep this thing of ours out of working hours or Landry will either fire me, reassign you, or both. Now I’m assuming that if he didn’t see our little display yesterday morning, that he heard about it, and so far he seems willing to either overlook it or accept it, but we have to be professional.”

“Well now, I knew you were good but I wasn’t’ aware that you’d become a professional darling…” Vala teased him playfully. “I have to get dressed Daniel. If you want to stay, stay. I won’t be but a minute or two. Just have to find some clean undies.”

“Vala!” Daniel said in exasperation as Vala stripped completely and began rifling through her dresser drawers for underwear. He was getting a rather delicious view of her backside and was rapidly getting hard.

“Something wrong Daniel?” she queried mischievously turning to face him. She slipped into a pair of red lace panties and walked toward him dangling the matching bra from her index finger. “Can you do this up sweetie? It’s a bit complicated.” She looked coquettishly down at his obvious arousal. “Now now Daniel, we must remain detached and professional during working hours.”

“I’m on a break,” he rasped in her ear as he cupped her breasts from behind. Seductively he put her arms through the bra straps and guided the cups into place and after trailing a series of hot kisses up her spine, snapped it closed. “Are you sure those panties give you enough coverage baby?” he purred, grabbing her mound from behind and dragging a finger up its length while grinding into her bottom.

“I’m beginning to think they provide a tad too much coverage…”

“Tsk Tsk, let’s find the rest of your clothes shall we?” He picked up the pair of pants on the bed and motioned for her to put her legs in, before slowly pulling them up. As he zipped them, he grabbed her bottom and pulled her hard against him again so she could feel the full effect of his excitement. “Shirt next,” he commanded and she handed him the khaki t-shirt she had chosen. “Arms up and in,” he ordered and dragged his hands down her sides as he pulled in over her head and down. “There now, you’re almost presentable. Let me just get that hairbrush from the bathroom.” Vala waited on the edge of the bed, flushed and incredibly turned on. He came back and knelt behind her on the bed. She could feel his hardness pressing on her lower back as he began to slowly brush her long raven hair.

“Daniel?”

“Mmmm?”

“I really want you.”

He lifted her hair and kissed the nape of her neck luxuriously. “I know,” he said seductively. He continued to slowly brush her hair until it shone. “All done. Off you go. Sam’s waiting for you.”

“Daniel! You are a nasty tease!”

Daniel laughed and rose from the bed, heading for the door. “Turnabout, baby, is fair play. I will see you tonight. I’m making you dinner at my place.”

 

Daniel found Vala still in the lab at 6:00. “Vala, you ready to go?”

She looked up scowling, “Go where?”

“To my place, I’m cooking dinner for you? Did you forget already?”

“God, what time is it? Sorry darling. Someone sniped my bid again. You Tau’ri are a sneaky and cruel bunch! And you call me a thief? I was the high bidder until the last second and someone just swoops in and steals it right out from under me. It isn’t fair actually.”

“I thought we’d agreed you would stop using my credit card number to shop online. What is it now? Ebay? And actually, it is totally fair. That’s how auctions work. What were you trying to win anyway?”

“Never you mind, and anyway, I’m not using your credit card. I’m using mine. I was ‘pre-approved’!”

“Vala, we need to have a talk about how money works on this planet. If you think the Lucian Alliance plays rough, you ought to see what VISA gets away with.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway does it? I didn’t win,” she pouted. Daniel marveled at the complexity of the woman he loved. One minute she was a sexy temptress, the next a petulant child. Powerful, intelligent, cunning and worldly, she retained a vulnerable, almost child-like quality at the same time.

“Cone on, let’s go. I’m sure I can think of something to cheer you up. Do you like salmon? I thought I’d barbeque; it’s fast and I can’t screw it up too badly.”

“What’s a barbeque?”

Daniel laughed and took her hand. “Should I stop at my room and get some stuff? I’d like to avoid a repeat performance of this morning. That is, of course, if you want me to stay tonight?” Vala felt unsure all of a sudden.

“Oh yeah. You’re staying. We leave for that mission tomorrow if you recall. I am not looking forward to separate quarters for the duration of the peace process!”

 

“Maybe it would speed up the negotiations if you explained how horny you are?” Vala faked her most earnest expression, “They’re all men right?”

“Perhaps we should leave you here. It’s not a very ‘liberated’ planet despite their level of technological development. I believe women are better seen and not heard there.”

“I’ll be good. Samantha’s the one you need to worry about. She doesn’t take kindly to that kind of thing if you recall.”

“Actually, she isn’t coming along. She is on her way to Washington to spend some time with Jack,”   
“They should just get a matching set of Goa’uld rings or just use a ship,” Vala suggested. “Seriously, what is the point of saving the planet, if you can’t use the stuff you steal from those you conquer?” Laughing, Daniel ushered her bodily from the room. “Well Daniel, you seem to be in a hurry; I didn’t imagine you’d be such a bossy boyfriend.”

“Yes you did. You were counting on it. Now get a move on; I’m hungry.”  
“Actually, so am I,” she purred, “and I’d like some food as well.”

“So where’s this barbell thing that you were talking about Daniel?” Vala was bouncing around the apartment looking expectant.

“Barbeque Vala. And it’s on the balcony. Technically, we’re not supposed to have one so it’s just a little one,” Daniel explained.

“Oooh…so it’s ‘forbidden’ then?” Vala said with a mock conspiratorial tone. “I like the thought of that.”

Daniel was mildly amused, “Yep. Knew that about you. Sadly, however, we’re not really breaking any laws or challenging any cultural taboos, so don’t get yourself all worked up.” Daniel was busy on the balcony lighting up the portable gas barbeque.

“There’s fire involved?” Vala sounded a little concerned. “It isn’t dangerous to be using one of those practically inside the apartment is it?”

“That’s why,” Daniel joked, “it is for-bid-den.” He shut the screen and came back into the kitchen.

“I’m serious Daniel,” Vala continued, genuine concern in her voice, “how dangerous are those things? It looks like a little missile is attached to it!”

“It’s not a missile,” Daniel called from the kitchen. “Come in here sweetie, I could use the company.”

“Just how flammable is the gas in that little bomb thing anyway?”

“It’s fine. It’s completely safe. We use them all the time here, Relax.” Daniel drew her towards him. Sometimes he forgot that in many ways, she was quite inexperienced, at least on this planet anyway.

“Just don’t like fire that much, you know?” she smiled weakly.

“We’ve been in way more dangerous places than my apartment you know? What’s up?”

“I’m just feeling a little scared tonight. About a lot of things I guess. Never mind. It’s out of my head now. Let’s get started on this dinner then shall we? Give me something to do besides admiring your fabulous backside, which by the way, is definitely one of your finest features.” She ran her hand suggestively across his ass.

Daniel laughed, “So I’ve been told,” he responded, as she pressed up against his back. Vala reached around and put her hands in his front pockets. “What are you looking for in there Vala? Buried treasure?”

She grabbed his swelling penis, “Not so buried is it?” Her breath was hot on the back of his neck. Daniel pulled her hands out his pockets and spun around.

“Nope. Not so buried. Now your treasure on the other hand, does take a little more excavating,” he said in a low tone, lifting up her denim skirt, and thrusting his hand between her legs. She sighed and arched her back but he broke away from her suddenly, “But, first things first, let’s get this dinner ready. I really am starved! I’m going to go throw these salmon steaks on the grill. Can you get started on the salad?”

“You are such a meanie,” she called after him but she turned her attention to the vegetables on the counter and began slicing tomatoes. In less than 15 minutes, dinner was served. They sat at the dining room table, which Daniel set hastily. Vala had never had salmon before and was quite taken with it. She tucked in with her usual gusto and savoured every morsel. “God, this is good Daniel. And this is a readily attainable food here? It’s not a delicacy?”

“No darling, they sell it in a variety of forms. You can even buy it canned and make sandwiches from it,” he said lovingly. She was enchanting in her innocent enjoyment of life. “God Vala, you are just so damn cute! I’ve eaten salmon probably thousands of times in my life, but it has never tasted so wonderful.” And it was then that he realized one of the essential reasons he loved this woman. She approached new situations with a spirit of adventure and enthusiasm. They both craved novelty and exploration. Now admittedly, she didn’t find translating ancient texts novel or exciting as he did, but it was essentially the same basic inclination. He was surprised however, at how quickly they both had settled into a relationship. The calm domesticity of it was unexpected. “I hope I haven’t totally tamed her,” he thought ruefully.

“What’s next Daniel? Is there any pie or cake or such for dessert? I’ve left room,” she flashed him a decidedly licentious smile.

“Actually, I forgot. I think there’s some ice cream in the freezer though or we could go out somewhere. There’s a nice little coffee shop up the block.”

“A coffee shop within walking distance? I should have known. Do you have your own booth?”

“Actually no, but I do have a points card! Free coffee with every 25 cups.”

“So, you must get a freebee, what…” she started counting on her fingers, “every week?”

“Ha ha, so do you or do you not want to take a stroll up to the shop?”

“I do.”

They walked the block to the coffee place holding hands. It was a beautiful evening and dusk was just starting to fall. The clouds were a rich shade of purple and they contrasted sharply with the orange and yellow glow that the setting sun cast as it disappeared below the mountains. Vala sighed and looked up at Daniel. “Will it always be this beautiful?”

“Which,” Daniel responded, “being with me, or the sunset?”

“Both, I guess, although I was, in this moment, referring to the sunset. It looks so different here than at home.” She sighed deeply again and squeezed his hand.

“I don’t often see the sunset actually Vala. I am usually nose down in a book, at the mountain or off-world; but yes, I believe the sunsets are pretty nice most nights; I haven’t paid a lot of attention to them though,” he admitted.

 

“Can you change that?” she asked quietly. “Can you spend more time living in your body and less in your head?”

“You’ve been my girlfriend for what? 24 hours now? And already, you’re trying to change me!” he teased.

“Well, I’ve changed.” She was serious. “You changed me.” She stopped and turned to face him. Reaching up to stroke his face, she whispered intently, “You are the only person I have ever felt safe with Daniel.”

Surprisingly, Daniel wasn’t in the mood for deep thinking, for a change, and tried to lighten the mood a bit, “Hey, I thought you said I scared the hell out of you!”

“Scared at the depth of my feelings isn’t the same kind of fear as one feels being hunted across galaxies, or carrying an alien baby, or being kidnapped and tortured, or watching fire approach you and knowing….” she broke off suddenly. “Anyway…” she shuddered involuntarily.

Daniel silently reproached himself for making light of her feelings and pulled her into his arms, and softly stroked her hair. “It’s okay, I’m here.” He kissed the top of her head lovingly. “Not going anywhere.” He held her there for a few moments until she started to breathe normally.

Then she pulled back and brightly asked, “Is that the place over there? It’s positively charming!” She half dragged him across the street.

Inside, large leather easy chairs, overstuffed sofas and low tables were arranged, in small groupings, around a central stone fireplace. Jazz music played in the background, audible, not overwhelming, but loud enough to allow for private conversations not to be overheard by others. The room itself was suffused in a yellow glow cast by the sunset and it smelled of coffee and newspapers. Here and there small groups were chatting, a few couples were cozy on couches and singletons were either reading newspapers or working on laptops. The coffee bar was at the rear. Daniel, having ensconced Vala on a secluded corner couch went to get the food. Again, Vala had deferred to his judgment about what was “good here’, a trait he was beginning to grow concerned about actually. He wondered if she had some sort of notion that once in a couple, earth women followed the lead of men and he made a mental note to ask her about it. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t press the issue tonight. Standing in line, he decided she would probably prefer something more interesting than the standard East African blend he usually drank and ordered her a sweet and frothy hot chocolate with whipped cream and a piece of pecan pie. He opted for his ‘usual’ black coffee and almond biscotti.

“New friend, Mr. Jackson?” the young woman behind the counter asked too eagerly. “I haven’t seen her here before.”

“Old friend actually,” Daniel replied tersely. He wasn’t a huge fan of the increasing informality of social interactions that seemed to be the current trend.

“Well then…” the barista looked slightly   
embarrassed as she handed him his change. She followed him longingly with her eyes as he walked back to Vala.

“Looks like he’s taken…” her male co-worker leaned in and whispered with disappointment. They both sighed and smiled.

“They always are.”

As usual, Daniel was unaware of the physical response he engendered in others, and was slightly confused when he saw Vala glaring territorially at both servers. “What’s up Vala? You look angry. Did I screw up again somehow?”

“No darling, I am simply putting an end to the ogling of the staff. Both of them look at you like they’d love to get their hands on your ass.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed and exactly what can be accomplished by simply scowling at them?”

“Just staking my territory,” she giggled taking a sip of her cocoa. “Trust me, the look I just gave them makes it clear.”

“Now who’s the Neanderthal?” he kidded.

She slid closer to him on the couch and pulled his head into a deep kiss. He groaned, “Mmmm….that should make it pretty clear.” She leaned against his chest and tasted her pie absently.

“Good god Daniel, this pie is spectacular!”

“A little better than the commissary no doubt.”

“If there is a pie heaven, this would be it. Way way better than blueberry.”

“Don’t let Jack hear you say that! Them’s fightin’ words!” Daniel laughed and drew her in for another kiss. She pressed her hand into his inner thigh suggestively and stroked leisurely. When he kissed her again, she bit his lower lip and lightly drew her tongue across it as she pulled away. Daniel felt all the blood heading south. “Finish the pie Vala,” his voice was rough with passion, “I think I need to get you back to my place. Now.”

Daniel didn’t waste time fumbling with the keys like the night before, having found the right one on the elevator. He practically sprinted down the hallway, Vala in tow, had the key in the door and pushed her inside within seconds. He was on Vala’s mouth before the door was closed and kicked it shut behind him without breaking his hold. Vala moaned and pulled back, gasping for air and Daniel turned her around and pushed her back up against his front door, pinning her arms above her head and greedily attacking her mouth with his. Their tongues entered into a not so gentle combat and they both moaned hungrily.

It was he that pulled away then, panting heavily, “Need you so much,” he whimpered and began a fresh assault, kissing and sucking her neck avariciously. While still keeping her arms pinned against the door with his left arm, he began an almost desperate exploration up her left thigh with his other hand, frantically tugging at top of her panties under her skirt. He succeeded in getting them down blindly and Vala obliged him by stepping out of them as she also kicked off her sandals.

His hand deftly caressed her throbbing mound, slipping two fingers in and out of her slowly. Vala instinctively opened herself wider for him thrusting hard against his hand. This was all the invitation he needed and he dropped to his knees and began to tease her clitoris with his velvet tongue. She arched and pushed her hips up, silently begging for a more thorough exploration. She undid her skirt and he let it fall to the floor, before yanking it out from under her feet and tossing it aside. She moaned as he re-doubled his efforts. Each circle of his tongue brought her closer to the edge. Her breath came in soft little pants as she began to unbutton her own blouse, half-desperate to free her straining breasts, whimpering incoherently when she succeeded in liberating them and began to stroke her own nipples. Her pleasure steadily rose until she was moments from coming. “Not yet…not yet…” she groaned and tugged him upright.

He then transferred his attentions to her naked breasts. “Mmmm…when did these come out to play?” he said wickedly and began to nibble on her nipples. She could wait no longer and reached down and found his belt. When she fumbled with his zipper he readily offered assistance by shoving her hand down the front of his jeans as he undid them. When she found it through the folds of fabric, she freed his cock and squeezed it roughly, eliciting a deep grunt of pleasure from Daniel. He responded to her with fervor and drove her up against the door again. She ground against him mercilessly until he was sure he would come before even entering her. He aggressively shoved his tongue halfway down her throat, bruising her lips with the force of his kiss. And then his lips were on her breasts again ravaging them feverishly.

“Oh, oh,” she gasped for air and wound her fingers into his hair. She felt herself begin to rapidly accelerate towards climax and knew he was close too. “Daniel…”she moaned; “I need you to…” she lost the need for words as he thrust inside her in one swift movement. “Yep…that’s what I need…” Suspended off the floor and held in place by his powerful arms, she moved with him, arms encircling his neck while he kissed her and drove steadily into her. The storm was building quickly and soon she jolted against him and began to climax. With a guttural moan of ecstasy, she began to shudder and twist in his arms, as she gave herself over fully to him. She heard rather than recognized her own voice cry out his name as he brought her to completion.

For his part, Daniel was fairly screaming with bliss as her inner spasms pulled on his surging cock relentlessly. He plunged into her hot, slick depths with total abandon, lost in her. His climax was powerful and prolonged and Vala was transported into another orgasm at the sound of her man’s total abandon. When it was over, she flicked her tongue over his earlobe while he stilled, and in a deep and husky voice, she murmured, “Well, that was fun…”

“Just taking your advice,” he panted.

“Huh? What advice Daniel?’

“You know, about living less in my head and more in my body.”

“Ah yes, I remember…”

“How am I doing so far?” he asked, punctuating each word with a deep thrust into her.

“Off to a whiz bang start I’d say,” she giggled. They slowly slid towards the floor, he still inside of her, and settled into a breathless and sweaty heap. Exhausted and sated for the moment, she leaned against his still heaving chest. As they slowly regained their wits, Vala noted with a giggle, “Daniel your pants are still around your ankles and your shirt is still fully buttoned whilst I find myself a tad more exposed.” He laughed and began to kick of his shoes and pants awkwardly without letting go of her. The result was an indecorous tumble which had Vala landing with a thud on her side.

“Throwing me over so soon darling?” Was it something I said,” she laughed and recovered herself, opting to stand up rather than continue to sit bare-assed on the ceramic floor. “Seriously, let’s move the post-coital cuddling to a more comfortable setting, shall we?” She gathered her clothes and overnight bag before she headed down the hall towards the bathroom. “I’m going to get ready for bed; get it warmed up for me.” Daniel nodded mutely; apparently not particularly brainy after sex.

When she joined him, she had put on a red silk nightgown that opened provocatively in the front to reveal a matching thong. He smiled lazily at her, “Mmmm…you look delicious.”

“Well, I had thought we’d make it to the living room at least and I could slip into this and surprise you. I hadn’t quite pegged you as such an animal.” She slipped under the covers, snuggling up beside him and laying her head on his chest.

He held her closely and caressed her back. “Animal eh? I guess you unleashed the beast when you bit my lip in the coffee shop. Couldn’t really see straight after that. I didn’t hurt you did I? I wasn’t too rough?” Daniel was suddenly worried.

“Nope. No complaints. Surprised but not unpleasantly…” she traced soft circles on his chest with her fingers. She breathed his musky scent in deeply and nuzzled in even closer. Tracing the outline of his sculpted abs with her index finger, she asked quietly, “Daniel, will it always be this beautiful?”

“Yeah, I think so. Better even,” Daniel said softly. She yawned against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Better? Can’t imagine it getting any better than this,” she murmured sleepily.

Daniel lay awake and listened to her breathing slow until she was asleep in his arms. Suddenly she seemed so fragile, so trusting. He lightly kissed her head over and over whispering, “love you, love you, love you,” as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Negotiations did not go well on P5R-116. From the moment they stepped out of the Stargate, it had been one disaster after another. First, the Lamerians had objected to the location for the talks. “We were under the distinct impression that a neutral location would be found. We cannot negotiate here, where the Brunadi guards are everywhere.”

“The guards are here for all of our protection,” the Brunadian representative had protested. “You have nothing to fear from my people. It is you and your kind that excel at double-dealing and murder.”

It had taken all of Daniel’s skills to defuse the situation and it wasn’t until a neutral location had been secured, that negotiations could begin; even then the excessive ceremonial and religious rituals that both sides insisted on performing to “purify” and “sanctify” the room had threatened to derail the talks before they got started. Nether side had any respect for the other’s religion and the two groups had come to blows over who would be able to perform the rites first. When the Lamerian delegation objected to the appropriate number of gongs required to signal the beginning of the talks, Daniel almost lost it.

“Let me remind you all that it is you who invited us here to try to broker an end to your civil war. How can you expect a lasting peace when you are squabbling over such minor details!”

“I assure you Dr. Jackson, we are here in good faith,” the head of the Brunadian contingent intoned apologetically, “I cannot of course speak for the bantoqs across the table.”

The Lamerians leapt to their feet enraged. Daniel spoke calmly, “I must reiterate Earth’s position that we cannot enter into a trade agreement with a politically unstable partner. There are other planets eager to….”

He had not needed to finish the sentence. Both sides quietly took their seats and with arms crossed defiantly over their chests, continued to glare ominously at each other. But at least they were silent.

“All right, let’s begin. The first point of contention has to do with the fishing rights on Lake Harzah I believe?” Daniel had decided to start with the smaller issues before tackling the larger questions of religious freedoms, and territory. And so it had begun and so it continued for week after week as each area of conflict was addressed. Progress was painstakingly slow due in large part to the hourly cleansing rituals that had to be performed and the small-mindedness of both parties.

After three days, Mitchell, Teal’c and Vala had been called back to the SGC. There was little they could do to assist and thus SG-3 had been left behind to provide military support and for the protection of Dr. Jackson. And then he found himself essentially alone, feeling even more so now that he had opened his heart to Vala. She had winked at him and blown him a kiss as she stood at the Stargate and then she was gone. They hadn’t been alone together in days and there had been no real time for a decent goodbye either as cultural taboos forbid men from even so much as touching a woman in a public place.

The newness of the relationship meant that neither of them felt particularly secure in the weeks that followed. They had only been ‘together’ for 48 hours before the mission had started and now as days turned into weeks, he began to worry that it was just the right amount of time for her to come to her senses and run for the hills. Daniel was keenly aware that he was ‘not an easy person’ to love. He had more baggage than a 747 and his emotional stability had consisted almost entirely of teeth clenched suppression. For years he had intellectualized every feeling that had threatened to break free from his steely resolve and yet….one kiss from her and he had shattered. But he was in such uncharted waters, and being without her was only exacerbating his fear.

 

As a result, Daniel found it almost impossible to remain neutral and calm during the protracted negotiations. He resisted the urge to begin each day with a derisive comment like, “So what minutiae are you fuck-wits going to haggle over today?” More than once he had literally thrown up his hands in disgust and threatened to withdraw completely and let them settle things on their own. But each time, he had returned to begin anew, hoping against hope that today would bring the tedium to an end.

*************************************  
Nights were the worst for Vala. She filled her days with her duties: assisting Sam in the lab, the odd trip to the Alpha site and even a mission, with the rest of SG-1, to a pre-industrial, naquadah-rich planet to do some recognizance. But the nights were long. Night after night, she lay in the dark thinking about Daniel. She had loved him unrequitedly for so long that the relationship now seemed almost too good to be true. She felt sure he would soon come to his senses and retreat to safer ground, as was his way.

Vala was acutely aware that she was ‘not an easy’ person to love. She was a minefield of emotions at present. For years, she had hidden her true self down deep inside, a tendency learned while she was subjugated to Qetesh and one that she had retained ever since. Self-preservation was essential at all costs. She was a fortress, and a heavily guarded one at that. Skillful manipulator, particularly of men, she had embodied the concept of “survival of the fittest” and like a panther, she played with her prey before killing it. Until Daniel.

**************************************  
It was three weeks before Daniel was able to leave P5R-116, determined never to return again. He literally stumbled out of the Stargate because he was so exhausted. “Welcome back Dr. Jackson,” Landry’s voice boomed over the speaker. “I trust all is currently well with our newest friends?”

“I wouldn’t call them friends actually. More like acquaintances. Friendship seems unlikely at this point,” Daniel sounded weary. “Not enemies though, and we have established a trade deal that is mutually beneficial.”

“I look forward to your report. We’ll debrief after you have finished with Dr. Lam.”  
************************************

“You seem no worse for wear Dr. Jackson,” Carolyn Lam commented while making various notes in his file. “You’ve lost some weight though, was the food unpalatable?”

“On the contrary, the one thing those people excelled at was cuisine. I just wasn’t that hungry. Too much tension, I guess,” Daniel replied absent-mindedly. “Anyway, where is everyone? The rest of the team?”

“No idea actually. They’ve been back from P6R-129 for quite a while. Cleared them for duty earlier this morning. They were excited about you getting a chance to see their notes. Apparently the inhabitants are at the …what was it that Vala called it? …the Stonehenge stage.”

“Right. Well then, can I go? General Landry is waiting for me.” Daniel was out the door before she could respond. He was in a half-run towards Vala’s quarters when he saw her, walking equally as briskly towards him. They both stopped dead, staring somewhat shyly at each other from either end of the corridor. He took the remaining steps to her and then stood facing her slightly breathless.

“Hey there,” she said softly.

“Hey yourself,” he replied, reaching up to gently brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She grabbed his hand and kept it on her cheek, lightly kissing it as she held it there. “Miss me?” he asked tenderly

Vala made no reply but simply took his hand and lead him towards her room. Once inside, she gave him her answer. She kissed him softly at first and then more deeply and as their bodies entwined, he felt her relax completely in his arms. It wasn’t a heated lust-filled kiss but it was the most intimate kiss of his life. It was an unguarded kiss of unconditional love and trust. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away and held him closely, her head on his shoulders and her soft breath on his neck.

“How much time do we have Daniel?”

“Not too long. I have to go brief General Landry on the mission.”

“Did it get any better after we left?”

“It was, as Jack would say, a complete cluster-fuck.”

“Let’s move over to the bed and sit down for a while. Surely General Landry can give you a few minutes to collect your thoughts?”

“Sure.” He lay down on his side and pulled her back against him. They lay there spooning, legs entangled with Daniel’s arms fully around her for a few minutes before either of them spoke again. “I wasn’t sure you’d still want…I mean I wasn’t sure you’d still be….well, things were moving so quickly before and I….” Daniel struggled to complete his thought.

“Thought I’d cut and run?” Vala offered.

“Kind of…I guess.”

“Nope Daniel…still here,’ she rolled over to face him. “Not going anywhere, okay?”

“You sure? I’m not an easy man to love Vala. I have a whole lot of crap I’ve never dealt with and I have a tendency to over-think even the most ordinary…”

She put her fingers to his lips, “Shush. Let me get this straight, you think you’re the one who’s hard to love? Daniel Jackson, you are easy to love. Easier than breathing.”

“Oh you’ll see. I’m a high maintenance jerk a lot of the time,” Daniel was laughing now but she knew he was serious.

“Yep. Knew that about you. Still love you.”

“Mmmm…” he snuggled closer and fell quickly into the first restful sleep he had had in weeks. General Landry would have to wait.

Vala watched him as he slept, now and then softly stroking his temples, tracing her fingers slowly over the laugh lines there. They contradicted the worry lines etched in his forehead and she was struck by how accurately his face betrayed the complexities of the man. He was strong and confident one moment, shy and self-conscious in the next; tender and sweet, even boy-like at times but hotly lustful, even aggressive at others; worldly and educated while still somewhat awkward and innocent. “It will take me a lifetime to get to know all of you,” she said aloud. She sighed deeply before rising from the bed and pulling a blanket over him. She stood and watched the slow rise and fall of his chest before quietly leaving him.

As she walked towards General Landry’s office to explain the necessary delay in the de-briefing, she ran into Sam. “Vala! Have you seen Daniel? Landry is frothing at the mouth!”

“Landry will have to froth away I’m afraid. Daniel is sleeping Sam. He’s exhausted. Something about the negotiations being a cluster of something. It isn’t as if he didn’t update the man constantly while he was there. For pity’s sake….”

“Ms. Val Doran. Good to see you back. I take it Dr. Jackson is resting?” General Landry had approached unseen from behind the two women.

“Sir!” Sam immediately snapped to attention.

“At ease Colonel. Tell Dr. Jackson, he can speak with me in the morning, Ms Val Doran.”

“Thank-you sir,” Vala squeaked.

“And, Colonel Carter?”

“Sir?”

“I do not froth.”

**************************************  
Daniel woke in the late afternoon and sighed contentedly when he recognized his surroundings. He buried his nose in Vala’s pillow savouring her scent before propping himself up on an elbow and reaching for his glasses. 4:00! “Shit. I’ve missed the de-briefing. Landry will be frothing at the mouth by now,” he said aloud.

“He apparently does not froth darling,” Vala spoke from the other end of the room. She was curled up in her easy chair, reading Cosmo.

“Have you been here the whole time Vala?”

“God no, I’ve done a full days work in the lab. Just got here a little while ago. Figured if you weren’t up by 5:00, I’d wake you. Don’t worry about Landry though. He’s looking forward to a full de-briefing in the morning.”

“And what about you? Would you like a de-briefing?” Daniel patted the bed beside him suggestively.

“Later. Right now, you need to take a shower and we need to get something to eat. You can de-brief in the bathroom. I got you some clean clothes from your quarters.”

He turned the water on and stepped into the shower. Daniel stood under the steady pressure of the water and marvelled at how good it felt. When he reached for the soap he found there was only some purple bottle of shower gel. He sniffed it, “Nope, not gonna use this!” he thought. “Vala?” he called out, “have you got anything a little less…” he sniffed the bottle, “um…floral…in the soap department?”

“Will this do Daniel?” she stuck a bar of Ivory through the curtain.

“Yep thanks. Got any kind of normal wash cloth or just his pink puffy thing on the string?”

“Here,” she said, stepping into the shower, naked, with him, “you can use my hands.”

Daniel caught his breath in surprise and delight and shivered despite the hot water that was running down his body.

Vala appraised his wet body thoroughly before beginning to gently stroke him to an erection. “God Daniel, you are magnificent, truly.” Daniel moaned and braced himself against the shower wall while she continued her gentle tugging on his substantial and still hardening penis. He closed his eyes and surrendered to the tidal surge of pleasure that was rippling through his body now.

For her part, just watching his face as it was suffused with bliss had Vala incredibly aroused. She knew she had become as hot as an oven and that the shower was not her only source of wetness. Indeed, she was fairly pulsating with desire. As she caressed him, Daniel began to run his hands passionately through her hair and it wasn’t long before he lifted her to his mouth and began to kiss her.

Her tongue quivered as it met his. Reaching for the soap, he began to wash her, his exquisite hands slid in stroking motions over her entire body. She lost herself to the erotic pleasure of it for several minutes before bending forward and urging him to enter her from behind. Pressing hard against her, he slid inside. He set a deliciously slow and steady rhythm while he ran his hands down the front of her, his fingers stroking her breasts and clitoris simultaneously.

“God Daniel, how many hands do you have?” she moaned. She felt herself begin to tremble into an orgasm. As if on cue he began to thrust deeper and deeper until in a shuddering spasm and with a soft moan, he came. They clung together under the warm flow of the water until they regained their senses. Turning in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him dreamily, “Well, that was even better than I remembered.” She reached for the soap and began to finish the job she had started, soaping his body with relish. Daniel simply smiled lazily, basking in both the afterglow, and the feel of her delicate hands sliding over him lavishly.

The water started to turn cold suddenly and he scrambled quickly to turn it off before reaching for a towel to wrap her in. They towelled each other dry, both enjoying the opportunity to admire the other’s body from multiple angles. When she began a gentle rubbing of his groin with the towel, he could bear it no longer and suddenly picked her up and carried her back to her bed. She giggled, “Put me down, you beast!

“But, I’m not done with you yet,” he said. “I want to make love to you.”

“What do you call what we just did?”

“A good start.”

“Mmmm….ready again so soon?”

To his surprise, he was, but he ignored it. “It’s not going to be about me this time. Now, what would you like? Tell me…”

“Daniel…”

“Tell me.”

“I do not object to the velvet of your tongue,” she murmured.

“No? Indeed?” He was playful now. “Ask and you shall receive…” He then embarked upon a mission of oral exploration that began with her ear lobes and ended with her toes, which by then were decidedly curled. He ran his tongue between each of her toes, lightly kissing each one.

She was so transported by the sensation that she yelped when, with a rather forceful air, he parted her legs and began a new and more intimate exploration. His tongue worked in slow circles up her thighs. It found her clitoris with exquisite deliberateness. Vala let out a cry of surprise and tried to pull him up to her, the pleasure almost more than she could bear. But Daniel held her firmly in place despite her squirming, circling her swollenness until at last Vala gave herself over to abandon, writhing with wave upon wave of release.

With throbbing need, she begged him. “Fuck me! Oh God, fuck me Daniel!”

“Well, if I must,” he laughed. He entered her slowly, teasing her by rubbing the head of his penis up and down her throbbing clitoris.

“Daniel, please. For the love of God…” She grabbed his ass and pulled him in abruptly.

He was unprepared for the heat, the lushness of her, and before he could steady himself, she began to grind herself into him, her inner muscles stroking him….and they were both gone. His orgasm was so intense, he thought he might actually black out but he held onto her tightly as she arched up beneath him, drenching him with hot liquid as she came. They collapsed back onto the pillows, entirely spent.

“I’d complain about having to lie in the wet spot,” she giggled, “but it seems the entire bed is wet.”

“I love it when you come all over me,” he said, he voice gravely with passion. “And I love when you beg me to fuck you….”

Hearing Daniel talking dirty startled Vala. “Gee, I was kind of embarrassed about that part, you know, it’s not that romantic a word.”

“It wasn’t a romantic moment. I told you to ask for what you wanted and well…”

“If I had known I simply needed to ask for what I wanted in graphic terms, we could have done this months ago. I thought you would appreciate more subtlety.”

He laughed heartily, “That was you being subtle? And anyway, I wasn’t ready for this months ago.”

“Are you ready now? I mean, not for more sex but for the letting someone love you part?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Me too.”

She cuddled in close and when he threatened to doze off again, she propped herself up on his chest. Facing him she said, “I’m starving! Can we pleeease get something to eat now?”


	4. Chapter 4

6 months later

“Well, I think this is the last of them,” Daniel announced from behind the two boxes stacked precariously in his arms. “Where do you want them?”

“What does the label say Daniel?” Vala snapped crossly from the back room. “Perhaps you could put them in the rooms that match the labels that are CLEARLY printed on them.”

“Well, I can’t see the labels at the moment! A little help maybe?”

“Oh for pity’s sake Daniel, I’ll be right there!”

Vala stamped impatiently towards him, eyes flashing with irritation. “Well let’s see,” she took down the first box, “B-O-O-K-S. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest your office? If you can find a spare inch of floor space that is. Do you think you can read the one in your hands for yourself? No doubt it is more of your damn books!” She turned on her heel and stomped off, muttering under her breath something about “certain people are so useless...”

Daniel fumed silently, and reading the same label as the first, piled them back on top of each other and humped them angrily into his den. If boxes had not been wedging the door open, he would have slammed it. “God, she is being such a bitch!” he muttered under his breath. He wondered if he could manage to breathe without upsetting her today. Flopping down in his office chair, he disappeared behind the stacks of boxes around him. Maybe he could get a moment’s rest.

“Daniel? Daniel! What are you doing now?”

“Nothing!” he hollered. “As usual. Just sitting here on my ass, while you do all the work my love!”

“Oh that’s nice Daniel. I love it when you call me ‘my love’ when you are royally pissed off with me. It softens the blow,” Vala sniped sarcastically as she hunted him down.

When she saw him slumped in his chair, red in the face and clearly sweating, she took a deep breath to calm herself. “Sorry. I know you’ve been working hard darling. I am just so edgy today. It’s been a week of packing at your place and now that all of our combined stuff is here, I just don’t know where to start…where to put everything. It’s so overwhelming.”

Daniel felt a sudden pang of guilt when he thought about how much of this move had been left up to her. ‘Now you understand why I never finished unpacking at the old place,” he smiled up at her somewhat sheepishly. “You know, it doesn’t all have to be unpacked today and I will help you, I promise.” C’mere,” ‘he said softly, his deep blue eyes both apologetic and loving. She edged her way through the boxes toward him, and sat down on his lap. He wrapped his muscular arms around her, “So, let’s make a plan. Which room would you say is the room that’s the most daunting? I’ll start with it.”

“Oh, definitely the kitchen and then the bedroom. You take the kitchen; it’s all your stuff anyway. Just get the bits and pieces put away okay? I don’t really care where at this point. We can move stuff around later if the ‘flow’ is wrong for us.”

“What the hell is ‘flow’?”

“Decorating term. You know there are a lot of magazines on this planet about home decorating? I’ve been reading up ever since we decided to live together. Kept me busy while you were away. Got to get the ‘chi’ right apparently.”

Daniel chuckled softly, “I will try to get the flow and chi in sync sweetie but if you start bringing in wicker and bamboo….”

“And why can’t I? There isn’t anything in this place that’s feminine except my underwear drawers!”

“You need more than one drawer for your underwear?” Daniel teased, “How much underwear do you have?”

“You should know, you take them off me often enough… Oh never mind!” She forcefully extricated herself from his embrace. “I was speaking metaphorically about something important but forget it…” she gave an exasperated sigh and marched away muttering under her breath.

Daniel was puzzled but headed for the new kitchen. He looked at the expanse of cupboards and recalled how excited they had both been to find a house with a large bright kitchen. They had gotten into the habit of cooking together; she was rapidly becoming an outstanding chef and he loved watching her, admiring her growing skills and the passion with which she took on every new challenge. He was happy to follow her lead and take direction (in the kitchen at least). Vala would hum or sing while she was cooking and he enjoyed the quiet contentment of shared domesticity. After so many years of travel and adventure, it surprised him how appealing the idea of ‘settling down’ and starting a family had become. He recalled with a grin the first time Vala had seen this kitchen; she had been practically vibrating with excitement. It was the first room they had walked into and before they left it, he was mentally calculating down payments and mortgages.

As he began to put his dishes, pots and pans away, he heard a soft knock on the front door and then a voice calling, “Guys? You here? The door’s wide open…okay, coming in now. Everybody decent?” It was Jack. “Daniel, for crying out loud, can you take this stuff off my hands or what?”

Daniel met Jack at the door, grabbing the stack of pizza boxes off the top of the case of beer that Jack was carrying. “Four kinds of Vito’s best Danny-boy.”

“Where’s Sam?” Daniel asked as Jack followed him into the kitchen. “Here, let me put the beer in the fridge…jeez that pizza smells good, I didn’t realize how hungry I am!”

“I dunno. She’s unloading the rest of the stuff I guess. Jeez Daniel, you are practically inhaling that pizza! Do you even like anchovies? I got that one for Sam, she had a craving for something savory.”

“I’m trying to eat quickly before Vala finds out I’m taking a break. She’s been driving me crazy today…one minute she’s all sweet and happy and the next she’s a total b….Oh hi Sam….”

“Daniel,” Sam took a deep breath, “you’ve done zippo about the move up to this point. She’s done it all. All the packing, all the planning….”

“I did all the paying….” Daniel interjected defensively.

Vala was in the doorway. She glared at Daniel silently before asking brightly, “Is there any vegetarian pizza in those boxes? I’m starving. Let’s get some plates. Have you found any of your dishes yet my love?” She gritted her teeth when she said “my love” and no one was unclear as to just how badly Daniel had messed up this time. No one except Daniel of course. He handed her the plates and kissed her cheek when she handed him a beer. Sam and Jack exchanged a pained look as they watched the pair head over to the kitchen table.

“Oh dear,” Sam whispered to Jack as she grabbed one of the pizza boxes, “do you want to tell him or should I?”

“Noooo….I’m not gonna tell him. He deserves what he’s gonna get. Did he really say, ‘I’m the one that did all the paying’….oh to be a fly on the wall later on.”

“You are a bad bad man Jack O’Neill!”

“I try.”

They took their pizza and beers over to the table. Vala was staring out the bay window wistfully drinking beer from the bottle in tiny sips. She was distant, and non-communicative and didn’t register when Sam sat down next to her. “I love this eating area Vala. What kind of window treatment are you thinking of?”

“Again with the decorating terms, what the hell is a ‘window-treatment’?” Daniel interrupted.

“Curtains Daniel. Curtains, shutters, blinds…” Jack sat in the chair next to him and leaned into whisper “You’re better seen and not heard at this point buddy.”

“Huh?” Daniel was puzzled again.

“Well Sam, I’m not entirely sure what we’ll do with this window. It will of course depend on how much money Daniel allows me to spend. I was thinking of having something sheer since privacy isn’t a concern at this end of the house and I liked the brightness…and I would like to get a nice small table and turn it into more of a breakfast room but well….again, that will require cash. But you know, it’s fine as it is for now. This is a perfectly good, sturdy table and chairs…. serviceable and practical.” She stared out the window again.

“Ookaay…” Sam stood up suddenly, “What’s say we get a bit of unpacking done? We’re burning daylight here!”

“I could use some help in the bedroom,” Vala said brightening a little.

“Good, I have some stuff that I picked up that I’d like to show you, so let’s get a move on.”

Daniel and Jack were left at the table nursing their beers and each finishing up their fourth slice of pizza. “Let’s get a move on too,” Jack suggested. “What did Vala tell you to do?”

“I offered to unpack the kitchen stuff.”

“Right,” Jack laughed and then said under his breath, “you’re a dead man.”

“Now, if you don’t like any of this stuff, just tell me I won’t be hurt. I don’t know your taste that well but I thought you might like these.” Sam had dumped some packages out of a large shopping bag onto the bed. Vala stood dumbstruck looking at the sheets and comforter, and the throw cushions. The sheets were a beautiful dark red and the comforter was covered in an exotic paisley pattern of reds and golds. There were matching shams and 5 accent pillows with gold cord and tassels. The whole ensemble had a decidedly Middle Eastern flavour. Vala ran her hands over the fabric slowly and turned to look at Sam.

“Sam…how…” Vala struggled to maintain her composure but promptly burst into tears. She flung her arms around Sam and nearly crushed her in a powerful hug. “They are beautiful…”she sniffled. “Perfect.” She was crying harder now. “How did you ever think of? How did you know how much…?”

“How much you needed something of yourself in this house?”

“Yep.”

“Women’s intuition?”

“But Daniel won’t want this you know. He’ll call it ‘girly’ or say nothing but cringe and screw up his face in that oh so subtle way of his.”

“Nah…the sheets are Egyptian cotton.”

Vala started to laugh.

“And, what about you? Do you like them? Really, we can exchange if there not ‘you’.”

“You know they are exactly right so don’t pretend otherwise.”

“Well, I did find that magazine with the page turned down lying on your desk….”

“Okay. Let’s get this room the way I want it! Bed on the far wall facing the window…..”

The two of them certainly didn’t need male assistance moving furniture, barely breaking a sweat moving the heavy pieces into place, before starting on the boxes. Vala began unloading various things that had been in Daniel’s bedroom at the apartment, placing various keepsakes on the dresser. She debated whether she should divide the room in half in a his and hers arrangement or mix his vast collection with the few personal items she had managed to hold onto in her travels. She decided on keeping the stuff separate for now. Daniel had a collection of framed photographs of the people he loved: his mother and father, grandfather, various candid photos of SG-1, Cassie and Janet, a much younger Daniel with his arms around a beaming Sha’re and a serene photo of his incomparably beautiful wife. The last was in a particularly ornate frame. Vala arranged the photos on top of the larger dresser along with some decorative, and no doubt antique, wooden boxes that Daniel kept “stuff” in. He had once objected to her calling them jewelry boxes and she had never opened them to see what they held, if anything.

Sam, who had been busy hanging up clothes in the walk-in closet emerged to find Vala looking intently at the photo of Sha’re before placing it at the forefront of the photo grouping.

“Does it not bother you to have a picture of her in your bedroom Vala? I would find it rather awkward myself.”

“It never occurred to me to be bothered by it Sam. She is the love of his life after all, and I think it’s his prerogative to have whatever photos he wants in his bedroom.”

“It isn’t just his bedroom. I don’t see a picture of Tomlin on your bedside table.”

“It’s not he same thing,” Vala said quietly. “I loved Daniel even when I was married to Tomlin. I did what I had to in order to survive and somehow make it back here, to Daniel. Even if he didn’t want me, I always knew that he was “it” for me. So, you see, it’s just not the same thing at all. She was everything to him. I could never ask him to….” she trailed off wistfully and walked over to her “side’ of the room. She picked up and opened, a cardboard box clearly labeled with Vala’s and taking out the jewelry box with her father’s presents in it, she stroked it lovingly and placed it carefully on the top of the smaller dresser. Beside it she placed a small blue ceramic vase that looked something like Delft beside it. It was all she had left of her mother. She had no photographs. Vala pushed down the rising tide of sadness in her.

Sam watched her silently, allowing her the moment she needed before suggesting that they finish putting all the clothes in drawers and setting up the bathroom before calling it a night. “I think you and Daniel need to have some time to settle in on your own.”

“Yes, I guess we do,” Vala said clearing her throat of her emotions and turning to face Sam cheerfully. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the bedding Sam. Really. It looks quite pretty doesn’t it? I like the way his dark wood furniture looks with it.”

Jack and Daniel had finished up in the kitchen rather quickly. All of Daniel’s kitchen equipment had fit into 3 of the cupboards and 2 drawers. “Well, I guess the other 15 cupboards and 4 drawers will fill up over time,” Daniel observed.

“Yep. Once you have a woman in the house, all sorts of doo-dads are gonna show up…Sam showed up with a lemon zester the second weekend she was in D.C.”

“What do you need one for? Actually, what IS a lemon zester?”

“One of the many things you have still to learn young Skywalker…”

“One of the many things?”

“You know Daniel, for someone so smart, you can be a real moron a lot of the time,” Jack laughed. He tossed Daniel another beer and headed into the living room. “Let’s clear a path to the couch shall we? Sam wants me to explain some things to you. I wasn’t planning on it, figure you deserve what you’re about to get but in the interest of saving your ass…”

“She’s angry with me. I figured that out a while back. See? Not such a moron.” Daniel flopped down on the couch with a huff.

“Why?”

“Why what? Why did I figure it out or why is she pissed with me?”

“She’s not a subtle woman, any Unas could’ve caught the chill she was throwing your way. So tell me oh wise one…why is she upset?”

“I screwed up somehow, but….nope can’t see what it was specifically.”

“Well, I’m no expert on women but let me walk you through it slowly okay? Mmm…let’s see…okay…” Jack was struggling to articulate the problem into words.

“Jack!”

“Okay. Look around, what do you see?”

“Furniture that needs arranging, boxes to unpack…”

“Any of that stuff belong to Vala?”

“No. How could it? She’s not from ‘around here’ now is she? She’s been living on base for most of the past year, except lately she’s been pretty much living at my place.”

“And….whose place is this?”

“Ours.”

“Good. We’re making progress... Stay with me Daniel. This is the tough part…”

“Jack!”

“What’ve you been doing lately?”

“Mapping the ruins, translating glyphs on P3X-439…..ah….my job!”

“Who did all the moving prep?”

“Vala.”

“Whose stuff did she pack?”

“Mine.”

“Mmmm…..getting there. Okay, whose house is this again?”

“Ours.”

“Oh, I thought it was yours….after all “you did all the paying”…I believe that’s what you said.”

“Oh shit! She doesn’t feel like it’s her place and my stuff is the only stuff we have…and I haven’t been here to help and…oh hell Jack, I made a crack about bamboo and wicker.”

“What the hell do bamboo and wicker have to do with this? Oh, never mind. I think you have the basic idea…you’ve been an asshole and she’s….ah jeez, just figure it out from here…you’re the genius right?” Jack took a draught of his beer, “We done here for tonight? I wanna take my girl home.”

“Yeah. You guys still bringing Teal’c over for dinner day after tomorrow? Vala’s wants to try her hand at Spanish tapas.”

“Spanish what?”

“Little portions on little plates washed down with lots of wine or sherry.”

“Little portions on little plates…sounds like I ‘m gonna be hungry…”

“Not likely. There’s a LOT of little portions, and a lot of wine. It’ll be delicious and fun. Plan to stay though, lots of wine…”

“Well you’ve got the room now don’t you Danny?” Jack slapped Daniel’s leg good-naturedly while he stood up. “Sam?” he hollered in the direction of the master bedroom.

“Okay..okay…there’s no need to yell..jeez, I’m right here.” Sam laughed. “Eager to take me home sir?” She purred the word sir in a rather provocative tone, and Jack blushed. “Good-night Daniel, see you Sunday. Vala’s upstairs.”

“’Night Sam. And Jack? Thanks for the advice,” Daniel smiled weakly at Sam. She put her hand on his shoulder affectionately. “Thanks for helping Vala all week while I was off-world too Sam.”   
**************************************  
Vala was sitting on the edge of the bed when Daniel entered the room. His eyes took in the disheveled, dejected and adorable woman in front of him. She was ferociously trying to work the elastic out of her hair. It had become tangled when she had taken down her ponytail and she was only making it worse at the moment. When she saw him she threw her hands up in exasperation, her eyes full of more distress than the current moment warranted. He sat down quietly beside her and murmured, “Let me,” into her ear. She silently turned her back to him and he began to slowly untangle the fastener. His proximity and the slow gentle movements of his fingers as they worked through the twisted knots seemed to calm her. “There now, it’s out. Hand me the brush.” Daniel began to brush her hair in long slow strokes.

“Daniel…I’m sorry for…”

“Sssh sssh…not your fault…” he continued the luxurious brushing, “I’m the one who is sorry. I’m not always that perceptive,” he leaned in and lightly kissed the nape of her neck. She leaned into him and he encircled her with arms. “And, kind of insensitive.”

“Yep. Knew that about you. Still love you.”

He held her closer before taking his first real look around the room. “Gosh, this room looks great. I like where you put the furniture. And, the bed looks really…” he struggled to choose the right word, “….beautiful. I like the red.”

“You do?” Vala brightened suddenly and turned to face him excitedly, “Sam gave it to me…um…to us.”

“Well, there’s a lot of stuff we need. Like,” he smiled devilishly, “window treatments.”

“Well, they can wait until we’re more settled I think. The former owners left all the blinds anyway.”

“Slightly clinical if you ask me though, never really been a fan of them, I prefer…well, actually I don’t know what I prefer, just not blinds,” Daniel chuckled and pulled her closer, looking for a kiss.

“Ow!” Vala yelped in pain at his gentle tugging, and grabbed the back of her neck.

“Vala? What is it?”

“Just my neck,” she whimpered as she reached behind and rubbed the muscle on the right side. “It’s nothing really, just sore muscles.”

“You’ve been working so hard on this move, I should’ve just told SG-5 to find someone else to survey those ruins on P3X-439, especially when we were this close to the moving date,” Daniel reproached himself.

“It wasn’t supposed to be a two week mission darling. You couldn’t have anticipated the delays and anyway it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re moved in and we have some down time to relax and get things organized at a more leisurely pace now. I just need a good night’s sleep that’s all.”

“Will you let me give you a massage?” Daniel wanted, needed to make amends, and needed to show her his appreciation. “I would love to help you relax and I’ve got some skills in the area of massage,” he gently stroked her cheek with fingers.

“I’m aware of how skilled those hands of yours are Daniel but…”

“You find it really difficult to just lie still and let me give you pleasure, even though….”

“Even though you think that….” Vala broke off suddenly.

“You deserve it.” Daniel said lovingly. “You do, you know. Can you please just…” he took her hands in his.

“Lie still and let you…I’ll try,” she smiled weakly and looked into deep sapphire of his loving eyes.

“Good!” he jumped up excitedly. “You need to take off your clothes and get comfortable on your tummy. I’m just going to go and lock up and turn out the lights.”

He returned to find Vala lying on her side, propped up on her elbow. . “You are not on your tummy Vala,” he gently rebuked her

“I am however, as you commanded sir, completely naked.”

“Indeed,” Daniel said badly imitating Teal’c, complete with one arched eyebrow. “If you think that you are going to distract me from my plan, not gonna happen. On you stomach woman!”

“Not until you are naked too!” she giggled.

“Ah, the things I must do for my art…”he laughed and stripped off. “Oh dear, I guess I need to go hunt down that massage oil I bought that we’ve never used…

“Second drawer in the bathroom…”

“Stay where you are,” Daniel commanded.

“I am unlikely to move from my pleasant location, Daniel, as it affords me a rather provocative view of your outstanding rear end.” He returned to her smiling, having located the bottle quickly. “However now I find that the frontal view is equally, if not more so, ah… picturesque. Your penis does not look inclined to wait patiently through my massage though.”

“My penis has been perpetually hard since I first laid eyes on you Vala. I dare say it can stand the deprivation. And besides, it functions well as a third hand in a pinch.” He knelt on the bed beside her. “Let’s start with your back shall we?” Vala obediently rolled over onto her stomach, the sight of her fabulous bottom threatening to end the massage before it started. Steadying himself, he began by pouring a substantial amount of oil into the hollow of her back, gently spreading it in half circles up the flanks of her back and onto her shoulders. Straddling her bottom, he began to slowly trace his fingers across her body. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her as she felt herself relax more and more. She signed deeply as the tension left her neck and shoulders. Every now and then she felt his stiff third hand join in the massage.

Slowly he worked his way down her body until he reached her feet, where he began a foot massage that sent her mind reeling. She feared that she might pass out from the pure pleasure of it. She began to squirm, “Daniel, Daniel…please…stop, it’s too much.” He stopped momentarily and allowed her breathing to settle but moved his hands back up to her back beginning the same pattern again.

“Relax….you’re fine.”

“Mmmm…’kay.”

He continued his slow massage working his way back to her feet once more. This time, she didn’t protest.

“Now your front,” he ordered huskily. She turned over, eyes closed, more relaxed than she had ever been. Kneeling beside her again, he began at her head, gently massaging her temples and moving down to her jaw. He re-straddled her and Vala ached to kiss him but she missed her opportunity as he moved down to her shoulders. More oil and slow arcs from her sternum to her shoulders and down each arm.

Vala moaned, “Daniel…..”

“Uh-huh.”

“I umm…”

“Ssshhh…let me….love you”

He moved his hands to her breasts, which arched up to meet his fingers. He gently stroked them and ran his fingertips around her nipples and softly chuckled when they hardened. It was at this point that he replaced his finger with the tip of his straining penis. Vala reached up to grab it. “No, no my love…not yet”

He moved again to her side and placed his right hand over her aching mound. He poured more oil through his fingers and Vala moaned as it flowed through them and down. He set to massaging her clitoris and surrounding area with delicate precision, finally entering her with two fingers and beginning an interior massage at the same time. She moaned; the pleasure was immeasurable. “Don’t….” she growled, and Daniel stopped, not wanting to do something she wasn’t enjoying. She thrust into his hand and whispered…”I didn’t mean don’t…I meant...” she gasped, “Don’t stop…”

“So, you like this?” he intensified his inner stroking. As if in answer, she began to climax. It was seemingly endless; when she thought breathlessly that it was over, it began afresh. He continued to stroke her into orgasm after orgasm and she made no move to stop him. Daniel began laughing in delight and after the fifth one had subsided she reached for him and pulled him to her.

“Forget the rest of my body, I can’t stand any more. I need you inside me NOW!”   
She was like a furnace and so wet when he entered her, that he struggled to control himself lest he come too soon and end her pleasure prematurely. He wanted her to share in his orgasm. Fortunately, she seemed as eager as he was and demanded greedily for more speed and more vigour. They clung together in mutual ecstasy as he exploded into her. Both were surprised at the volume of their cries of completion and when they had collapsed backwards onto the bed, Vala laughed, “I don’t think any of our new neighbours is in any doubt as to what a fabulous lover I have!”

“Mmmmm….” Daniel pulled her into his arms and brought the new comforter over them. “Thank-you honey.”

“Thank-me? I’m the one who should be thanking you. I really…..” she trailed off and began idly tracing circles on his chest. She was lost for words; she had never surrendered that fully to anyone, relinquished control so completely to another. “I really…” she buried her face in his chest and sighed deeply. “I just really really love you,” she finally managed. The words seemed so inadequate and she hoped that he would hear her unspoken truth: that she had never felt so safe. So open. So sure. So beloved.


	5. Chapter 5

“Unscheduled off-world activation,” Walter’s voice could be heard above the sirens. “It’s SG-1 sir!”

“Open the iris!” General Landry commanded.

“They’re coming in hot sir!” Walter warned unnecessarily. The gunfire was preceding the team into the gate room. When they appeared, Cameron and Sam were dragging a badly injured and unconscious Daniel Jackson followed by Vala and Teal’c who were firing backwards into the wormhole.

“Close the iris!” Cameron bellowed. “And get a damn medical team in here. Jackson’s been shot.”

“What the hell happened?” Landry was shouting as he rushed into the gate room. “Get him to the infirmary!” he ordered to the medical team that had arrived.  
“What the hell happened?” barked Dr. Lam, “we’ve got severe head trauma!” She began to run along side the gurney toward the infirmary, not waiting for the answer.

Cameron and Sam were soaked in blood and shook their heads in unison, “Don’t know. Somehow, the Lucian Alliance must have known we were there. We were patrolling the perimeter of the ruins while Daniel and Vala were taking photos and….” Cameron began to stammer, out of breath. “We started taking fire. Daniel was hit I guess because we heard Vala screaming for help and when we got there, he was…we managed to get the gate dialed….”

“He wasn’t shot,” Vala said finally, “Falling rock….must have been dislodged by the gunfire.” She was breathless but calm. “I need to be with him,” she said simply.

“All of you need to go to the infirmary. Colonel Carter, Colonel Mitchell, are you injured? There’s a lot of….”

“It’s Daniel’s blood,” Sam said quietly.

“Nevertheless, all of you need to be checked out.” General Landry was firm.

“Yes sir.”

“Can someone PLEASE take me to see Daniel?” Vala was no longer calm. The shock was wearing off and she was starting to shake.

“Teal’c? Take her.” Sam cast a look of pleading in the General’s direction.

“Yes, of course, all of you---GO!”

By the time that Vala arrived in the infirmary, Daniel was being triaged by at least four doctors and there was a flurry of people running in and out of the room. She and Teal’c stood impassively against the far wall watching mutely. “We have to stop the bleeding before I can even get a clear idea of what the hell is going on!” Dr. Lam snapped at another doctor, not panicked but clearly concerned. “Yes, that’s it…okay…gonna need an CT stat so get him stabilized.”

Vala heard words like, “intubate” and “central line” and her head began to swim. Suddenly she heard Dr. Lam shout, “He’s crashing…” and there were more white coats rushing around. When she heard someone say, “Shit. We’re losing him..” her knees began to go weak and someone’s strong arms lifted her and took her out of the room. It was Teal’c.

“Let me go, can’t leave him, can’t leave my Daniel…” she struggled against him.

“ValaMalDoran, you must let the doctors do their work. You cannot help him now.”

She continued to struggle in vain as Teal’c held her closely. “Let me go, please….please….” she began to sob, great sobs wracking her body as she continued to kick and pull frantically against the Jaffa.

“Vala, you mustn’t….” Sam was suddenly there speaking soothingly, gently in her ear. “Sssshh…okay, that’s good….” Vala stopped struggling and hung there limply in Teal’c’s powerful grasp. “Let’s go over here now…sshh.” She put her arms around Vala and slowly walked her towards some chairs that had hastily been set up for them.

“Can’t leave Daniel…” Vala whimpered.

“No one’s leaving him. Right Teal’c?”

“Indeed ColonelCarter, I will now go to keep watch over DanielJackson.”

“See? Okay? Teal’c is with him now. Vala, you need to calm down now for Daniel’s sake. You don’t want the first thing he hears when he wakes up to be you crying right? That would only frighten him. You have to take care of yourself and ….the baby.”

“How did you know? I haven’t even told Daniel…” Vala started to sniffle but steadied herself. “Just found out before the mission. I wanted to tell him in….. Oh God Sam, they said they were ‘losing him’ in there,” she began to cry again and Sam brought her into an embrace, rocking her back and forth as she cried.

Sam sat with Vala for what must have been an hour before Teal’c returned to them. “DanielJackson is alive. They have stabilized him and are taking him to the CT scanner now.”

“Is he…is he….awake”

“He is not.”

At that moment, Carolyn Lam appeared in the doorway. She took a deep breath and approached the small group. Vala looked up; her face was stained with tears and as she saw the expression on the doctor’s face, all remaining colour drained from it. She clutched Sam’s hand.

“Dr. Jackson, uh Daniel, is stable for the moment. He has a pretty serious head injury and there was a lot of blood loss before we got to him. He went into cardiac arrest while we were assessing him but we were able to resuscitate him. He hasn’t regained consciousness. We’ll know more when we see the CT scan but right now my biggest concern is the potential of inter-cranial swelling. If the pressure inside the brain is too high, it can limit the flow of oxygen and well….”

“Brain damage….” Vala said mechanically.

“Well, it’s too soon to know and we need to see the scan to assess what degree of trauma the brain has sustained…and we can give him some pretty strong medications to minimize the buildup of fluid in the brain. But I don’t want to offer you any false hope guys…it really doesn’t look good. I’m sorry.”

Sam gasped and choked back a sob. Then a strong hand was clasping her shoulder from behind. It was Jack. He squeezed Sam’s shoulder gently and then said, seemingly confident, “Never count that space monkey out eh Sam? How many times has the man defied the odds? He’s lived through worse than this…hell, the guy’s ascended twice and lived to tell the tale. It’s gonna take more than a bump on the head to…”

“Jack?” Sam quietly implored him.

“Right. Well….can I get you anything Vala? I’ve set up a room for you so you can get some sleep or…”

Carolyn broke in, “Actually Vala, I would like to get you checked out. You have some minor cuts that need cleaning and well you know…”

“I told them about the baby…” Vala said in a small voice. “It’s okay.”

“Baby? What baby?” Jack sputtered.

“I’m pregnant.”

“Okaay…”

“Anyway Vala, I need to check you out and that way you’ll be with me when I get the results of his scan…it should take about half an hour.”

Vala rose on unsteady legs and stated to head towards the examination rooms. A sudden thought struck her, “Hey, where’s Cameron anyway?”

Jack spoke up quickly, “Oh. He had some minor injuries that needed…”

Carolyn shot a warning look at Jack and interrupted, “He’s just getting stitched up Vala. Not to worry. Now, let’s get you sorted out, okay?” She ushered Vala out the door casting a pained backwards glance at the rest of the team.

As soon as the two of them were out of earshot, Sam asked nervously, “What’s up with Cam? Is he injured Jack? He didn’t say anything.”

“Took a bullet Sam,” Jack was smiling in spite of the seriousness of the events around him, “in the….”

“Posterior muscle,” Teal’c offered solemnly. “He is in surgery having it removed now.”

“The muscle or the bullet?” Sam asked in earnest.

A male nurse, having been listening to the conversation offered up some more information. “He’s fine. Out of surgery and resting fairly comfortably. Actually I’m surprised the bullet didn’t’ ricochet off…his er…posterior muscles are so er….firm.”

“Are you saying that Colonel Mitchell is a tight-ass Lieutenant?” Jack queried in his most commanding tone.

“Yes sir! I mean, no sir!”

“Jack!” Sam threw up her hands in exasperation. She smiled in spite of her attempts to remain serious. “The Lieutenant and I have nothing but admiration for Colonel Mitchell’s fine conditioning.”

“Well, he’s saved my ass often enough…” joked Jack and they all began to laugh nervously. The tension over Daniel’s condition had set them all on edge and the momentary laughter at Cameron’s expense eased some of it.

When the three of them were alone again, Teal’c was the first to speak. With his usual stoicism, he suggested, “I believe I should go and sit with ColonelMichetll; he is bound to be wanting me….” Teal’c hesitated before concluding, “My presence I mean.” He inclined his head slightly and left.

“Well, that’s an interesting turn of events, “ Jack sputtered. “What’s the deal there? Are they a ‘couple’…” Sam stood and buried her head in his shoulder and he wrapped his long arms around her, kissing the top of her head softly.

“ Don’t ask Jack…”

“….and don’t tell? Are you serious? Now, that’s an surprising development.”

“I’m really not sure Jack, and I don’t care. Mitchell needs someone you know? At the very least, they have become best friends and it’s not important to me how far that goes. There was a lot of speculation about you and Daniel at one point and there was nothing going on was there? The kind of bonds we have with each other go pretty deep. We’ve all been through so much and well, it’s not that surprising that people wouldn’t understand how close we are.” She held him tighter, “Oh God Jack, what are we going to do if Daniel….”

“I know. I’m worried sick. I’ve never seen Carolyn so solemn before. Head injuries are pretty dicey you know? Even if he survives, he could be pretty ‘different’ afterwards. I don’t want to think about it…you know, the guy’s pretty much all brain and….” Jack was getting lost in horrid imaginings. A shudder traveled up from the pit of his stomach.

“Don’t go there okay? We need to put on a brave face for Vala. She’s a lot more fragile than people think,” Sam pulled out of his embrace. “C’mon, let’s go make ourselves useful somehow.”

**************************************Daniel regained consciousness as they were wheeling him out of the CT room. He slowly opened his eyes but was aware only of the change in light and the sounds around him; none of it made sense. “Where the hell am I?” he screamed but he was aware that no words were coming out of his mouth. And then he was out again.   
***********************************  
“Daniel? Daniel? Darling, I ‘m here. I’m here. No, you mustn’t try to move. Shhhh...”

Vala. It was Vala. He was in the temple. No. He wasn’t. “Where am I? Vala?” This time he was acutely aware that no words had left him, and realized with a shock that that strange mewling noise he was hearing was coming from him. And then it was gone again and he was too.  
**************************************  
Awake again. How long has it been? “Where?”

“Daniel. You’ve been intubated, you mustn’t try to talk.”

Where are you Vala? I can’t see you.

Out again.  
*************************************  
“Daniel, it’s Sam. You need to try to wake up. Oh Daniel, try…okay, let me see. What can I talk about? Okay, right. Mitchell’s doing fine. He’s up and about. No lasting damage. Teal’c is taking good care of him. Everyone is safe. Vala’s fine. She’s laying down right now because it’s late and well…it’s late.”  
**************************************  
Muffled voices. Is that Jack?

What time is it? Why can’t I open my eyes?

“Hey Danny, you still out? C’mon, buddy…wakey wakey…”

Shut up Jack. Stop fussing with my head. Christ! It hurts like hell.  
***********************************  
“Hey, I think he’s coming round….”

“Dr. Jackson, squeeze my hand if you can hear me,”

That was Dr. Lam’s voice. Okay. Clearly he was in the infirmary. Squeeze the hand. Done.

“Good. That’s very very good.”

Muffled voices. What are they saying?

“Daniel, it’s Vala, Jack says you’re awake? His eyes are open Carolyn….Daniel, oh darling…it’s so good to see you awake.”

I’m not awake. My eyes are shut. Can’t open my eyes.

“Okay Daniel, Dr. Lam thinks you can breathe on your own. Can you darling?”

Did I nod my head? No, squeeze the hand. Right. Good.

“You need to try to cough while I pull the tube out Dr. Jackson. One-two-three……excellent. Don’t try to talk. You were in an accident and you have some injuries. For now, you need to try to keep calm and focus on breathing deeply. Can you do that?”

What? Keep calm? Or breathe? Christ, my head hurts.  
***********************************  
“Vala?” That’s my voice. Shit, I sound like crap. “Where are you?”

“I’m right here darling. Don’t talk, you need to rest…Oh Daniel, I…..”

“How….long?”

“Ten days.”

“Tired…”

“Yes sweetheart, go to sleep now. I’m going to be right here.”

“Val…my eyes don’t open.”

“What? They are both open…you’re just exhausted…sleep..,sshhh…”

“Eyes won’t open.”

“Ssshhh….”

Vala listened in stunned silence as Carolyn went over Daniel’s condition with her. “The swelling is pretty much gone completely Vala and that’s very very good news. He responds appropriately when spoken to and is able to speak. There doesn’t seem to be any significant cognitive effects. There are a few concerns though…he seems to have suffered a mild stroke that has affected his motor function, but that could also be a residual result of the medications we gave him, we’ll need to do an MRI to know for sure. For now, it seems he has some issues on his right side, which is why he is still able to speak. He will need physiotherapy of course in order to regain the full use of his right arm in particular. The more serious issue is one that is more difficult, at least in the long term,” Carolyn Lam was struggling to get the words out.

“He’s blind, isn’t he?” Vala stated rather than asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I really don’t know. It could be something called cortical blindness or something called Terson syndrome. I don’t’ have the expertise necessary to diagnose or treat either condition. We’ll need to let his head trauma heal completely and then transfer him to John Hopkins in Maryland.. That’s the best facility in the country,” Dr. Lam stopped to take a deep breath. “Let’s hope it’s not cortical blindness because that would be worse. It’s a neurological condition and there really isn’t any cure. The brain injury prevents the eyes from recognizing that they are seeing. It’s less common. Terson’s is really inter-ocular…”

“Inside the eye?” Vala queried

“Yes. It’s really not true blindness at all and happens when the blood vessels in the eye bleed profusely and the vitreous fills with blood. It’s the blood that obscures the vision and there are treatments…surgery, that can help.”

“What caused this?”

“Both are conditions related to the head trauma and the inter-cranial pressure that resulted. Inter-ocular hemorrhaging occurs in many eye conditions though, not just Tersen’s. Even without treatment, if the bleeding stops, the eyes will eventually clear, so let’s hope for that okay?”

“Does he know yet?”

“I don’t think so. I first became suspicious when he insisted he couldn’t open his eyes and yet of course…”

“They were open. Will the MRI tell you whether this is the worst kind of blindness you talked about?” Vala was struggling to keep her focus.

“It might, especially if there are lesions or large areas of calcification in the brain.”

“What kind of tests will tell you if it’s inside the eye?”

“Well, a retinal specialist should be able to clearly see if that’s the case with some simple tests. Then he or she will likely order an inter-ocular angiogram to see which vessels are bleeding. These tests will have to wait until he can be moved. I just don’t have the equipment here for it; it requires a special camera. For now, he needs to be told what’s going on. Do you want me to tell him?”

“Nope. I’ll do it but you need to be handy to explain the technical stuff okay?” Vala was staring absently into space and had wrapped her arms around herself in a self-comforting hug. “How soon should I tell him? He’s barely even out of the coma.”

“Now. He’s awake and lucid.”

Vala nervously approached Daniel’s bed stopping just short of it, hoping against hope, that he would see her and smile. He didn’t’. He was lying flat on his back staring at the ceiling, eyes open and unseeing. “Hey there,” she said softly.

“Hey yourself,” was the muted reply. “Vala, I know that I’m….that I’m….that I can’t see. Figured it out about an hour ago by reaching up and manually opening my eyelids, only to find they were already open. And, I also know I can’t move my right arm properly. So, you don’ t have to break it to me gently.”

“Oh Daniel, ” Vala choked back a sob, “I’m so sorry.”

“Great. Just what I need. Pity,” Daniel sounded harsh, like something in him had grown cold and hard.

Vala stood beside him and stroked his temple, “Daniel, it probably isn’t permanent. There may be treatments. And maybe even ways we could get help from off world. We could maybe get our hands on another Goa’uld healing device….”

“Oh, you mean like the one you lost????” Daniel sounded bitter now.

“Yes. Like the one I lost running for my life from…”

“Never mind Vala.”  
“Right Daniel. Well then, I’m going to get Dr. Lam, so she can explain things to you, lay out the plan. I’ll be right back.”

”Send her but you should go get some sleep. I’m fine and I’m tired too.” He tried to roll onto his side but his body wouldn’t cooperate. He settled for turning his face away from her.

“Daniel. I’m….”

“GO!”  
**************************************  
Was it day or night? He wasn’t sure. He thought it must be night because there were fewer irritating people popping in and out of his room. The physiotherapist had left a few minutes before or was it hours? He’d thrown her out anyway. She of the chirpy disposition and the baby-powder scent.

“Come on now Dr. Jackson, you need to squeeze the ball. We can’t have those muscles atrophying. Don’t you want to be able to show your wife all the progress we’ve made today?”

“WE aren’t making any progress. YOU have the use of your right arm don’t you? And, SHE is NOT my WIFE!”

“Now, Dr. Jackson, we need to keep a positive attitude or we won’t get any better now will we. Try again.”

“Fuck you.”

“Now now…”

“No seriously. Fuck you and fuck your bouncy, condescending patronizing voice.”

“Dr. Jackson!”

“Get out,” Daniel ordered in a low voice.

That was hours ago, it had to be. He was alone, or at least he thought he was alone. He could never be sure whether some nurse was lurking about. They were stealthy, standing around gawking at him no doubt with long faces. Fuck them too.

He reached out with his left hand and fumbled with the things on the bedside table trying to reach the iPod that Mitchell had given him the other day. He heard it hit the floor.

“FUCK!” he screamed angrily. “Fuck, fuck fuck!”

“DanielJackson, can I be of some assistance?” Teal’c was suddenly there or had he been there for hours?

“Teal’c,” he said contritely, “I wanna listen to music and I can’t…”

“Here, allow me.” Teal’c placed the device in Daniel’s left hand and put the earphones on his head. “These are rather impressive earphones DanielJackson.”

“Are they? Noise canceling. Jack swapped them out with the little ones. They kept falling out and I couldn’t find them. These are better. I don’t have to hear anything but…”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Thanks.”

“You are welcome Danieljackson. Do you wish me to stay?”

“Nope,” Daniel found himself choking back tears.

“I will check on you later if you wish.”

“Sure,” Daniel’s voice was small. The tears were right on the surface.

“DanielJackson?”

“Yeah?”  
“It is not weakness. It requires more strength to ask for help when you need it than to stubbornly refuse it. This I learned from a very wise man.”

“From whom?”

“From you.”

Daniel turned on the iPod and ratcheted up the volume defiantly; a few tears sliding slowly down the sides of face. Uncharacteristically, Teal’c reached down and squeezed Daniel’s shoulder and as he turned to leave, he squeezed his right hand. Daniel squeezed it back faintly.

 

He was alone in the dark. He could hear the slow whining of the ventilation system the buzzing of fluorescent lights, the slow whirr whirr of the overhead fan. It was night. He had learned to recognize the sound of silence. With a shudder he remembered the dream that had woken him. Running through the pitch, he hadn’t been able to find her. Her screams had intensified and she had called his name, the fear in her voice bringing the taste of bile to his throat. “Daniel….help me….I’m here…” He had stumbled in the darkness, tripping over the undergrowth, careening forward unto his face. He couldn’t reach her’ couldn’t find her. And he was up and running again, arms flailing in front, following her screams. Then falling, falling, falling into the abyss, screaming her name as he fell….

“Vala?” he said aloud to the darkness. “Oh Vala…”

“Daniel? You’re awake? I didn’t….” she sounded sleepy

She was there? Of course. She was always there beside him stroking his arm, holding a straw to his lips, feeding him lime Jell-O. Filling the shadows with stories of her adventures before they met, or reading the newspaper to him. Lately she had been reading him books of her choosing: currently it was Harry Potter because she insisted he was just like Daniel, orphaned and burdened with the responsibility of saving the earth from evil-doers….She was there, never demanding anything from him, just holding his hand, loving him. And through it all he had remained largely silent, staring at the ceiling or vacantly into the darkness; offering her no thanks, offering her nothing. “Shit,” Daniel thought, “I’ve been such an idiot.”

“C’mere,” he said his voice husky with longing.

“Where?”

“Get in the bed with me. I really need you.”

“Oh Daniel….I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Won’t hurt…hurts more that you aren’t.”

She gently slid into the small bed and scrunched up to his left side. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. God, it had been so long since he held her. Weeks. Or was it months?

“You feel good. I’ve missed you,” Daniel’s throat was thick with emotion and he struggled, in vain, to fight back tears. She silently reached up and pushed the tears from his cheeks.

“Oh darling…it’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out somehow and I love you so…please….” And despite her best efforts, she began to weep. “Love you my Daniel…..”

And then his tears came in earnest: angry despairing sobs wracked his body--an avalanche of grief, rage, and fear rumbling over him. Vala held him as he keened thankful that at last he was allowing himself to feel it, allowing her the privilege of comforting him. She held him tighter and tighter as each wave of pain assaulted him; the sound of his anguish breaking her heart into a thousand pieces. It would subside only momentarily before it began a fresh assault.

He tried in vain to get control but each time he thought he had--the image of a lifetime spent in darkness would cloud his mind and he would imagine a life with no books, a life of never seeing his beautiful Vala’s smile again, never seeing the children they would someday have. A lifetime of dependency, a lifetime devoid of colour. Without his eyes, he was not an archaeologist, hell, he wasn’t even a linguist since he knew better than anyone that 98 percent of communication was non-verbal and that for all the languages he could speak, he couldn’t even work as an interpreter without his eyes. Each image of his future brought a new wave of grief and panic, until he began to scream in frustration and fear, his breathing becoming more and more labored.

“Daniel….Daniel….DANEIL!” Vala sounded desperate. “Daniel, you have to breathe, you need to breathe…” But the panic had taken hold of him and he was gasping for air. He thought he heard her yelling for help.

There were more voices in the room now and someone was putting an oxygen mask over his face. His chest convulsed erratically and his back arched off the bed. Then he felt a pinch in his hip and warmth coursed through him and he relaxed. “Vala?” he reached out with both arms frantically. “Where are you?”

“I’m here darling. Oh Daniel…” she was sobbing. “Shhhh…” she stroked his forehead, “shhhh….you’re okay. I ‘m here.”

“Scared….Vala…” he mumbled as the sedative began to take full effect. “Don’t wanna be alone…..won’t be able to find you in the dark…”

“I’m not going to leave you darling…I’m right here…..always…”

“C’mere….need….”   
“Leave us please, “ Vala asked the assembly of white coats, “Please?”

“Press the call button if you need me,” a plump middle-aged nurse said softly, gently rubbing Vala’s shoulders before pulling the curtains closed around them.

Silently, Vala got back into the bed and lay down beside him again, stroking his face tenderly and murmuring words of love until they both drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major Daniel whumpage.

“The good news is that it’s not cortical blindness,” Carolyn Lam said excitedly. “Although the MRI was inconclusive, the fact that Dr. Jackson is now distinguishing light and dark indicates that we are likely dealing with something along the lines of Terson Syndrome. The Air Force is flying a top retinal specialist in this morning. So we are transferring you to a civilian hospital, at least for the day”

Daniel smiled broadly. He had woken up that morning with the faintest amount of vision and had clearly known when a light had been shone in his left eye. His visual field was no longer completely black and had taken on a decidedly lighter shade…more like brown. “Does this mean that there has no more bleeding inside my eyes?” he asked brightly.

“It may, but I can’t be sure. So, when you’re up and dressed, we’ll transport you topside. Either way, you’re out of here as of now. You can go home after the appointment.”  
“What about the physiotherapy Carolyn?”

“Well Vala, I think you could supervise that now that Daniel is…..”

“More congenial?” Daniel suggested.

“Yes, more congenial,” Carolyn smiled.

“DnaielJackson, may I continue to offer you my services as you regain your strength? I have enjoyed our daily sessions,” Teal’c now stood in the doorway smiling slightly.

“I’d like that T. Isn’t it a long way to come out to our house everyday though?”

“Actually Daniel, I wanted to talk to you about this earlier. General Landry has given Teal’c permission to live off-base again and I’ve asked him to stay with us while you recover. The downstairs room has its own bathroom and Cameron and Sam have set up a workout room down there for your therapy,” Vala squeezed his hand signaling him that he needed to agree.

“If you would rather be alone Daniel, it will be no problem…” Teal’c offered.

“Nonsense, I think it’s a great idea. I could use the help,” Daniel smiled knowingly in the general direction of Teal’c. Daniel did not fail to notice that Teal’c had called him by only his first name and he was sure somehow that it was significant. “Actually Teal’c, I would love some help getting dressed if you’re up for the challenge?”

“I am.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then darling,” Vala said cheerfully, relieved to see Daniel so cheerful. “I’d like to talk with the doctor a bit before we head out anyway.”

“Vala,” Carolyn lam sounded quite serious, “you haven’t told him yet have you? Don’t you think it’s about time? You are 20 weeks along!”

“Yep. Should have told him ages ago but it just never seemed like the right time. He’s been so ill and then when he wasn’t in danger of dying anymore, he was so depressed and angry. It always felt like the wrong time. I don’t want to add to his burdens.”

“Are you waiting until you go into labour? For god’s sake Vala, you are CLEARLY showing and the rest of us are starting to feel like….”

“I’ll tell him when we get home. He’s so fragile right now. At first, I didn’t tell him because if anything happened to the pregnancy, he would blame himself and the accident…”

“Vala, it may be the one thing that gives him hope; you can’t predict his reaction. The Daniel Jackson I know will be thrilled. He deserves to know!” Carolyn was firm;  
“I’ll tell him tonight when we get home, or maybe tomorrow….” Vala promised.

When she returned to the room, Daniel was sitting in the chair waiting for her. He was wearing jeans and a white v-neck sweater. He’d lost a lot of weight but otherwise he looked fully recovered. Except for the cane in his left hand. He looked at her expectantly when she walked in, “Is that you honey? What do you think of this cool cane Jack got me? Apparently it’s from India. I can’t quite figure out what the carved heads on it are though but he assures me it ‘suits’ me.”

“They’re monkeys,” she said with some confusion.

Daniel laughed heartily, “Space monkeys no doubt.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll explain on the way,” Daniel used the cane to assist him in standing. “There now. I’m upright. Lead the way..”

The visit with the specialist had gone very well indeed. The bleeding had in reality stopped and what remained was ‘old blood’ that was slowly being washed out of the vitreous.

“Your vision will improve daily now Dr. Jackson, particularly in the left eye,” the doctor had assured him. “I think we may need to be a bit more aggressive with the right eye though. I would like to schedule a vitrectomy for next week. It’s day surgery now actually. We make a small incision in the cornea and basically ‘vacuum’ out the vitreous. While we are in there, I will cauterize the bleeding vessels and then you should be ‘good to go’. We’ll do that ocular angiogram now so I can get a clear picture of the veins in the back of the eyes. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.”

“How long before I can see normally again?”  
“Maybe a month or more. I don’t want to give you false hope though. There is bound to be some permanent vision loss. You’ll have to wear corrective lenses.”

Daniel laughed. “Been wearing glasses all my life Doctor. Stopped wearing them recently though….”

Vala giggled. It was turning out to be a very good day.

“Well, in the meantime, try to enjoy the daily re-discovery of the world. I’ve heard re-gaining your sight can be a pretty awesome thing and judging by the current state of your lovely wife, you will have much to look forward to.” She smiled widely at Vala.

“Oh, we’re not married,” Vala was quick to interject, casting a warning look at the doctor and signaling her to keep silent about her baby bump.

“Not yet..” Daniel said and squeezed Vala’s hand.

“Well then…” the doctor continued somewhat confused, “I will see you back here in an hour or so to go over the test results and set up that surgery.”

The staff car dropped them off at their home just before noon. As she helped Daniel up the stairs to the front door, he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. “I’m so glad to be home. I can’t wait to get into bed with you and…”

“Daniel, you can’t be serious! You are barely out of the hospital!”

“Yeah, that’s true…but a man’s got certain needs…”

Vala kissed him sweetly on the nose, “We’ll see…”

“I need the exercise…on account of my paralysis…” he whined mockingly.

“Let’s get inside first at least…” she swung the door wide. “Okay, it’s a step up and then we’re in. You okay?”

“Yep. I’m in. Just going to turn on the lights…” he hit the light switch instinctively. “You see sweetheart? I knew it was dark in here.”

“Yep. Saw that. Very very impressive sir.”

He felt along the wall and headed into the living room. “Couch still where we left it Vala?” he asked before tripping on the edge of the rug and pitching head first toward it. As he indecorously fell into it, he chuckled, “Yep. I see it’s right here.”

“Daniel, for god’s sake! Will you take it easy? You can’t expect to be running around the house like that.”

“I’m gonna trip on stuff Vala until I figure out the lay of the land…relax…” he smiled up from his prone position. “What’s a guy gotta do around this joint to get a cup of coffee anyhow?”

“I’ll get right on that my master. Would you be requiring some lunch as well? I am sure I could whip you up something.”

“Got any bagels? I’d kill for one of those from the bakery with some peanut butter and strawberry jam.”

“Pretty particular aren’t you bossy boots? But, yes, your every wish is my command. Sam and Jack seemed to have filled the kitchen with all your favourite junk food.”

“When’s Jack heading back to D.C.?” Daniel called from the living room. “He’s been here for weeks.”

“Daniel, he hasn’t spent all the past 3 months in Colorado. He was basically popping in every few days to check on you. Worried sick about you….” she called back from the kitchen. “Have I told you lately how much I love this kitchen and all this cool professional quality stuff you bought me? These knives for example are ….oh shit! Well, now I’ve done it haven’t I? Crap!”

“Vala? You okay?”

“Cut my damn finger on this ultra sharp knife…no big deal….just a scratch…”

“Here, let me help you…” Daniel was suddenly behind her

“How’d you get in here so fast?” Vala asked in shock.

“Dunno, heard you and just found my way in here…weird huh?”

“Guess, you don’t need to worry about finding me in the dark after all….” She began running her finger under cold water.

“Must be my highly developed spidey sense honey,” he reached and turned off the tap. “You got any towels in here?” She handed him one. “Okay, let’s wrap this and see if we need to get stitches…”

“I think a band-aid should suffice doctor,” she purred while wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him sweetly. “They’re in the cabinet over the stove.”

Daniel ran his left hand along the cupboards until he found the right one and opened it. He felt around in the cupboard until he found the box.

“I’m impressed Dr. Jackson.”

“Well, I’m afraid that’s the extent of my superpowers. I won’t pretend I can actually put one of these things on without the benefit of my eyes. Can you manage?”

“Yep. Done. Now let’s get you back to the couch and I will bring you your coffee. You are really overdoing it.”

Daniel walked instead to the kitchen table and sat in one of the two oversized wicker chairs they had bought to go with the small glass table. Vala had purchased some dark blue cushions for them while Daniel had been in the hospital and he ran his hand over the damask fabric before he sat down. “These are new. They feel nice. What colour are they?”

“Blue.”

He squinted and studied the opposite chair, “Navy blue…?”

“Yep. Do you approve?”

“I do. The masculine colour balances out the fact that I actually agreed to these girly wicker things in the first place,” he smiled mischievously.

“Yeah yeah…just wait until I start collecting dolls…and sitting them in all the empty chairs in the house…they have some nice ones on Ebay,” she teased. She brought the coffee and bagel over to the table and set them in front of him. “Coffee is at 2 o’clock, bagel’s at 6:and 12. Napkin,” she said swatting him on the head with it “is at 9”

“Thanks. God, this coffee tastes good,” he stared out the window absently. “Are there blossoms on that lilac tree in the garden?”

“Uh-huh, it is June Daniel. Can you smell them all the way in here?” Vala busied herself in the kitchen cleaning up the few things she had used to get lunch ready.

“Nope. Can’t smell them…”he smiled shyly, and turned to her, “I can see them. They’re pink.” Daniel heard her catch her breath.

“Oh, that’s really good isn’t it?” she was somewhat tentative. It had been such a difficult three months and she didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, still afraid to trust what the doctor had told them that morning.

“Yep s’good,” Daniel tried to sound nonchalant. Inwardly, he was sure that if he never saw another thing, the colour of those lilacs might be enough. He stifled a sob, “Never thought…oh, here I go again blubbering like a baby!” He wiped his face with the napkin. “Will you get over here?”

Vala walked over to the chair and sat down on his lap wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. “Mmmm…you taste like coffee…things are definitely getting back to normal.” At that precise moment, she received a rather forceful kick from the baby. She reached down and put Daniel’s left hand on her abdomen. As if on cue, the baby kicked again.

“What the hell was that?” Daniel asked in surprise. Then he began to run his hand over Vala’s tummy and noted its roundedness. “Vala….” he sounded stern and disapproving, a tone he hadn’t used since the last time he caught her stealing a bauble from Merlin’s stash. “Vala!”

“Yes Daniel?”she answered in her sweetest tone.

“Well? What’s the meaning of this?” he pointed to her belly. “Either you’ve stopped working out, or…”

“Baby bump. I’m sorry Daniel, I wanted to tell you weeks ago but you were….and then….oh Daniel…please don’t be angry.” She made a move to get off his lap but he held her there firmly.

“I’m not angry…” he traced the outline of her face with his hands, as if he wanted to memorize it with his fingertips.

“Not even a little…” she asked nervously.

“Nope. Not even a little,” he smiled at her. “Well, maybe just a teensy bit…” he teased. “How long have you known?”

“Found out right before that last mission. I had a big dinner planned to tell you….but then…”

“Uhmm….when is the due date? That’s quite a little bundle you’ve got going on there.”

“November 7th. I got pregnant in mid February apparently.” Daniel was running his hands all over her body now, tracing her curves, a look of amazement suffusing his features, his blue eyes dancing in spite of their sightlessness.

“How the hell did I miss this?” he asked. His hands stopped to linger on her breasts, “You are rather…voluptuous to say the least.”

“You haven’t copped too many feels of late darling,” she giggled and slapped his hand away from her right breast which he had begun to massage suggestively. ‘You were unconscious for the morning sickness part and…well, I don’t want to dwell on it, but you are blind. And even when you can see, you are not the most observant…”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Daniel kidded. “I may be an absent-minded, self-involved, living in my head too much, academic but believe me, I’d have noticed these…” he cupped her breasts in his hands again. “These…” he murmured seductively, “are rather outstanding.” He brought his face to her chest and nuzzled.

Vala sighed deeply, “Don’t start anything you can’t finish love. It’s the second trimester and I’m pretty horny.”

“You were always horny,” he said huskily as he laid a trail of little kisses up her neck.

“You have no idea Daniel. I’m reaching the desperate stage of late…so seriously, we need to stop this; you are just out of the hospital and….”

“And what?” he ran his tongue over her earlobe.

“And you might not have enough strength…”

“I wasn’t planning on swinging from the chandelier Vala. We’ll think of something.” He captured her lips in his and ran his tongue across them as he pulled away “Besides, I’ve heard it’s really erotic to be blindfolded and since I don’t need a blindfold….” He kissed her again, deeply, passionately.

Vala could feel his growing erection pressing up into her thigh, “Oh all right, if you think you’re up to it,” she sighed and stood up. “Let’s see if we can at least make it to the bedroom.”

“I’d race you except I’m a poor blind crippled guy….”

“Well, if you want me, you are going to have to navigate your own way to the bedroom,” she laughed and took off running.

“Hey, that’s no fair….”

“See you up there.”

Daniel had very little difficulty making it up the stairs although it was slow going with the cane. Once he was at the top he dragged his right hand down the wall until he found the door of their bedroom. He turned the knob and stepped inside.

“Honey, I’m home!” Daniel bellowed in the manner of Ricky Ricardo. Vala, who had been readying herself in the bathroom stepped into the room and laughed at him, urging herself to be likewise playful despite her nervousness. “Quick Gaston, hide in the shower! My boyfriend is crazy!!!” In mock fright, she hastily shut the bathroom door behind her.

Daniel made his way over to the bed, sitting down on the edge tentatively, and kicking off his shoes. He looked in her direction unseeing. “Vala? Where are you?”

“Here darling,” she said softly stepping into the space between his legs. He ran his hands up the sides of her body to find her completely naked.

“God, you feel so unbelievably beautiful. How did I get so damn lucky?” He seemed overwhelmed with emotion again and dropped his hands to his sides. “Vala, I want you to know that I appreciate how difficult the past three months have been for you. I know I wasn’t very good at being sick. I wasn’t very nice. I took all my anger out on you. I….well, I wasn’t very…brave.”

“Oh just hush Daniel. Do you have any idea how much I admire you? Not brave? Are you kidding me? Most people would still be curled up in the fetal position after what you’ve been through and here you are…. walking….talking….full of hope for the future…You are the bravest man I have ever known.”

Daniel lay down on the bed, his left arm covering his eyes, quietly absorbing her words. He steadied his breathing to avoid starting to cry. “Brave huh? Here I am trying to keep from bawling again. Not feeling that worthy of your esteem, although I am thankful for it.”

“I believe I should like to show you just how highly I esteem you darling. May I?” She didn’t wait for an answer but straddled him and started to unbutton his shirt one button at a time. She began with his neck, kissing and nibbling it, then softly kissing his closed eyes and lips. Moving down, her hands and tongue began a thorough exploration of every square inch of his broad chest, her tongue circling his erect nipples repeatedly. He moaned and reached up for her, attempting to gain control of the situation. “No, no,” she pushed him back to the bed with some force. “Let me.”

He threw his arms out wide to the side and sighed dreamily, “Well, if you must…” Gently, she moved back to his mouth, her lips just out of his reach. His tongue reached up eagerly for her. She allowed her own to play hotly with his, their lips still separate. Then she dragged her erect nipples gently up and down his torso, remaining over his face just long enough for his tongue to reach frantically for them to no avail. The absence of his eyes somehow made each move she made an exquisite surprise. By the time Vala reached his lower torso, the tumescence of his erection was immense indeed. She slowly peeled away the rest of his clothing and began sliding her entire body along his teasingly. He had stopped his feeble protests and was completely content to let her have her way with him. She could hear his shallow breathing and as she moved her tongue down his body, carefully avoiding the one area that most desired her touch, he moaned and arched his back. “Is there something you wanted darling?” she asked coyly as she progressed.

“I am afraid that I will explode if I don’t have you….” a moan of ecstasy completed his sentence. She had suddenly and adeptly impaled herself upon him. He was afraid he would climax with just one stroke. “God, you are so lush, so tight, so hot,” Daniel was quite shocked at his own utterances—he was normally not much of a talker in the act of love.

Vala had been fairly throbbing with desire when she had made the sudden leap onto his waiting cock. “Am I steaming inside? Do you like that?”

“God yes!”

“Do you like me fucking you?” she asked brazenly. She was riding him now. As she slid up and down his shaft with rapid strokes, her control began to slip. Daniel recognized her situation and at that point reached up at last to touch her. When his hands began to caress her breasts, she was lost in bliss and began to positively wail with release. Her shuddering reached its peak and began afresh and for the moment she was lost in the joy of it. “Oh Daniel…oh…my…god…” The sound of her so clearly in ecstasy only heightened the momentum of Daniel’s upward thrusts.   
As the rapture of her orgasm receded slightly, Vala regained some composure and set about assisting Daniel most whole-heartedly in achieving his own thunderous climax. She leaned forward a bit and allowed him a little more mastery of her. It provided her the opportunity as well to continue the interplay between the tips of their tongues. Doubling her efforts she rocked up and down on his slick length, watching in wonder as the sheer bliss of the moment flooded his features. She laughed in pleasure at seeing him in such abandon and felt herself begin to build to yet another orgasm.

Daniel struggled in vain to control his vocalizing, afraid he may actually begin to howl at the moon but his reserve was pointless. As he reached the point of release, he let out a guttural moan that aroused Vala to such an extent that she allowed herself to come again with a moan of equal intensity. She collapsed onto him and he rolled her over onto her back. He looked down at her. “I can’t see you,” he said hoarsely. “I want to see you.”

“You see me Daniel as no one else ever has--with or without your eyes.” Words failed him and instead he felt his eyes brimming with tears yet again. She reached up and gently caressed the side of his face. Embarrassed he heaved himself awkwardly onto his back and lay with his eyes closed, tears sliding down his temples now. She stroked his face to soothe him and gazed at him. He had never looked more handsome.

“I can’t breathe without you,” Daniel said quietly and drew her into his arms. “Toda mi esperanza, eres tu.”

“Mmmm…that sounds nice. What’s it mean?”

“You are all of my hopes,” he whispered in her ear.

She sighed contentedly, “And some girls complain that they don’t hear I love you often enough….”

After a few minutes, Vala got up from the bed and set about getting dressed again. She pulled the covers up around Daniel and sat down on the edge of the bed. Summoning up her courage she said, “So, Dr. Jackson, do you want to make an honest woman out of me now that you’ve gotten me ‘in trouble’? My father definitely has a shotgun.” Daniel laughed at first and then a slow look of understanding came into his eyes.

“Are you asking me to marry you Vala?”

“No, well kind of…I mean…yes, I am. Will you marry me Daniel Jackson?”

Daniel was struck dumb and during the silence, Vala rose again and busied herself about the room keeping a furtive eye on him as he laid there, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

“I…..” he stammered.

“Oh shit Daniel, that was the totally wrong thing for me to have asked. Just forget it okay? My timing is terrible. It just kind of popped out before I thought it through…you know how I am. Just get some sleep. I’ll bring you up some dinner later.” And with that, she was gone.

Daniel lay there with a confused look on his face. This certainly was an interesting turn of events. He’d been planning on a big romantic proposal the whole day they had spent on the last mission, distracting himself in planning it as he had idly photographed the ruins of that temple. And then the whole place had exploded in gunfire and the next thing he remembered was waking up in the infirmary, blind, partially paralysed and….she’s pregnant. With my child. The sound of it thrilled him in ways he hadn’t imagined. Now, if he went downstairs and said yes, she’d think it was only because she was pregnant or because she’d asked. And it wasn’t that. It wasn’t that at all. He’d wanted to be whole, to see her face when he’d asked. To look into her eyes when he said his vows. Nothing ever seemed to be simple. She was pregnant and he’d almost died. She was scared. “Oh hell,” he said aloud to the empty room. He struggled out of bed and inched his way to the dresser. Where were those boxes anyway?

As he fumbled with the things on his dresser, he chanced upon the photograph of Sha’re; he knew it by the ornate carved frame. He smiled, proud that Vala had loved him enough to put it there in the first place. It was time though and he put it in the third drawer under some sweaters. He fumbled around with the rest of the stuff on the dresser until he found the wooden box he was looking for. In it, the contents of his childhood. Photos of his parents, a few postcards from his grandfather, his father’s gold pocket watch (a gift from his mother) and finally a small velvet box. He opened it and found the ring inside. A large emerald he recalled, with a diamond on either side. Rather spectacular actually. His father had told him of his trip to the Cairo market to choose just the right stones and how he had had it made for her in Alexandria. His mother had loved that ring and wore it whenever she wasn’t up to her eyeballs in ancient ruins. Daniel sighed deeply, remembering how he’d had it sized for Vala ages ago, planning to give it to her on that romantic evening he’d planned so many months before. He’d waited only because he didn’t want to scare her away but he’d known from the very first time he kissed her that she was ‘the one’. He’d almost missed his chance.

Daniel found his jeans and put them on before stuffing the little box into the front pocket. Not bothering to grab the cane or even to put on more clothing, he hobbled down the stairs. He was pleased to see various shapes in front of him as he walked, the faint blurry outline of the stair rail, the lights from the kitchen. He knew he’d find her in the kitchen, no doubt whipping up something fabulous for him.

“Vala?” he called as he headed gingerly toward the kitchen, grabbing onto the wall for support and guidance.

She stepped back from the counter and gasped, first out of surprise at seeing him up in the first place and secondly because his attire, or lack of it, showed off all of his physical attributes to full advantage. Standing there barefoot, shirtless, with his hair all mussed up, he was definitely the most delicious thing in her kitchen!

“What are you doing out of bed? Not that I mind of course but well, you need to rest…”

“We need to talk,” Daniel smiled at her. Although he couldn’t see her in more than a fuzzy blur, he knew damn well the effect he was having on her. She loved him in Levis and nothing else. He realized with a smirk that he had forgotten to do the top button up as well.

“Okay…talk.”

“Not here. On the couch. I need to sit.”

“Of course sweetheart,” she offered him her arm and helped him into the living room. He lay down with his back up against the arm. “You okay now?” she asked and then sat at the opposite end of the couch.

“Cm’ere” he said pulling her up to lean her back against his chest and wrapping his long legs around her. “That’s better. Now,” he wrapped his arms around her as well, “just listen.”

“ ‘kay,” she said softly.

“I am in love with you. I mean, not just a little bit…a lot…and I’m not going anywhere…ever. Before the accident, I had this big thing planned; you can ask Sam and Jack cuz they were in on it. There was a trip to that beach planet involved and a gourmet dinner….anyway, that kind of got trashed by me almost dying and all that bitterness thing I did for three months….but they can vouch for me, it was all planned.”

“Okay…where’s this all leading Daniel?”

“Well, I was going to ask you then….to marry me. I even had the ring; actually I still have it. It was my mother’s. I had it sized for you about 8 months ago. I knew you were the only one I could ever love, ever give it to.” He pulled the box out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“Okay…” she was breathless. “So I guess I kind of ruined it for you then by asking you first?”

“Not at all my love. It’s easier asking when you know what the answer will be,” he chuckled softly. “Assuming of course that you haven’t already changed your mind.”

She opened the box and gasped. “Oh Daniel, are you sure? This is a pretty special ring and you might want to keep it, I don’t know, for….”

“My mother would have wanted me to give it to my wife, the love of my life, the mother of my children.” Daniel reached forward and took the ring out of the box and slid it onto Vala’s left ring finger. “See, it belongs there.” He sighed contentedly and drew her closer.

“You’re sure? I mean I don’t want to trap you into marrying me just because I am carrying your illegitimate love child.”

“Not feeling trapped darling. And besides, I’m the one who has you trapped. You can’t say no to a pathetic blind man with a gimpy arm and leg now can you?”

“Guess not. Well, I suppose if I have to…” she flipped over on to her front and crawled up his body until she was nose to nose with him. “How’d I ever get so lucky?”

“Oh yeah, I’m a real prize!” he laughed heartily. “A big blubbering idiot most of the time these days…”

“Ah, you’re right. You don’t deserve me!” she leaned in to kiss him gently, teasing his lips with her tongue. “I am after all an inter-galactic sex kitten….mmmm…” she kissed him passionately, “Meow…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have lost my sight many times. His emotions are based on my exeriences. His subsequent surgery I had done 4 times.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel's surgery. The true nature of Cameron and Teal'c's relationship is revealed. Jack makes another appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had this exact surgery and the results are like this. I based the hospital room on a lot of research actually. The room is based on multiple examples I found.

Daniel’s surgery was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. the Tuesday following the engagement. He was not, as originally thought, going to have to travel to Maryland for the surgery. Apparently there were distinct advantages to having saved the world. The Air Force had flown the specialist back to Colorado and insisted on her bringing her team with her as well. The surgeon had been only too happy to do so especially after the call from the President. Clearly, this Dr. Jackson was very important to the U.S. government. It surprised her because even though she had been flown in for the consult, he didn’t strike her as a VIP. In fact she had been struck by his gentle and unassuming manner. Easy on the eyes too she had mused, distracted by his taut body and heavenly blue eyes. She had been quick to reproach herself for her lapse in professionalism especially after she realized the heat that he was generating in her. She had seen literally thousands of eyes but there was a clarity in their cerulean depths that was both arresting and soothing at the same time and she wanted nothing more than to restore at least one of them for him. As she walked into his room the morning of the surgery, she was once again struck by how attractive he looked, the pale blue of his shirt only intensified the blue of his eyes and the snug fit of his levis…. “Get a grip Brianna! You are the leading retinal surgeon in North America not some silly high school girl!” she silently rebuked herself.

“’Morning Dr. Leonard,” Daniel said with a shy smile.

“It’s good to see you Dr. Jackson,” Brianna Leonard said a little too breathlessly.

“Call me Daniel,” he responded graciously, “I hope your travel was not too tiring. I am so appreciative of you taking the time to come down here again. It’s very kind of you.”

“When the President asks…” she said resisting the urge to ask him to call her Brianna.

“Ah yes…..well, he is rather commanding…” Daniel chuckled.

Brianna Leonard was currently quite unnerved by the quiet masculinity of Daniel Jackson but she soldiered on trying to force herself to stop blushing. “Daniel, how are the eyes? Any more improvement since last week?”

“Yep, I can see about 20/200 now in the left and still about 20/400 in the right eye. I can see colours and dim outlines of things now with the left. It’s kind of like looking through….” Daniel struggled for the right metaphor to fully explain it.

“Vaseline?”

“Yes! That’s exactly it. Wearing my glasses actually does help the left eye though which your technician tells me is a very good sign.”

“It may be that there is no further damage to that eye but we won’t know for several more weeks. The right eye is still dark though isn’t it?”

“Yes, but I have observed a definite thinning of the blood in it. It is no longer espresso black but rather a well, frankly it’s a coffee with cream colour.” He laughed at that. “I am a big coffee fan Dr. Leonard.”

She smiled and began shining a small penlight into his eyes, “I’m afraid I don’t indulge much in coffee. Makes my hands shake which is not an eye surgeon’s best modis operandi. Anyway, I would like to review what we will be doing today and answer any questions you might have.”

At that moment, a breathless Vala joined them. “Sorry Doctor, I was feeling slightly light-headed and Daniel insisted I get something healthy to eat. It was quite a hike to the cafeteria.” She turned to Daniel, “Yogurt and a banana darling, do you approve?” She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.

“It’s a start, but you really need to keep a snack with you at all times; you can’t wait until you are so hungry,” he squeezed her hand and smiled up at her. Dr. Leonard caught herself wishing a man would look at her like that. “Now that we’re in the second trimester Dr. Leonard, Vala is hungry all the time.”

“I’m getting huge Daniel,” Vala said somewhat petulantly.

“More beautiful each and every day,” he whispered in her ear.

Overhearing this, the doctor had to stop herself from musing aloud, “Gorgeous, smart and attentive, the nurses are going to be fighting to answer his call bell.”

She coughed slightly, “Anyway Daniel, let’s just go over what the procedure is all about today. To be brief, I will make a tiny incision in your cornea and enter the eye with a very tiny instrument that will kind of ‘vacuum’ out the vitreous. While I am there, I will cauterize the bleeders and then we’ll be done. Afterwards, your eye will be bandaged for 24 hours and then in the morning, I will remove the dressing and you can go home. I can do this as a day surgery but given your recent accident I am going to keep you overnight. You will be awake for the surgery but we’ll give you some very ‘happy drugs’ so you won’t care that I am inside your eye, okay?”

“Are there likely to be any complications after the surgery?” Vala asked intelligently. “Infection for example?”

“Antibiotic and steroid drops will have to be administered constantly after the dressing comes off but the risk is relatively low. A more common issue is that the eye may bleed more after the surgery but since the vitreous is 99 percent water, once the fibrous elements are out, it will quickly dissipate in a few days or so as the eye replaces its water content every few hours. We need to get you prepped now though with a series of eye drops and an ‘eye block’ which is usually the worst part of this procedure for patients because it is a rather large needle and well, most patients can see it coming, but there will be no pain I promise just some odd sensations and pressure for a bit. The anesthesiologist will be in to get things set up and put in an I.V.”

Surprisingly, Daniel had a rather perturbed look on his face and worry lines were etched between his brows. “Any chance I can get the happy drug before the giant syringe comes at me?” he smiled nervously at Vala who was stroking his hand. “I know I’ve probably been through worse but well…” he hesitated a moment, “something about needles into the eyes…” He shuddered slightly at the thought.

“And he’s adorable,” Dr. Brianna thought before answering, “Of course, it was all part of my master plan.” She patted his hand as it lay on his thigh. “See you in the operating room Daniel.” She was thinking of nicknaming him Dr. McYummy.

When the I.V. was in and the drug had taken some effect Daniel was particularly adorable as he began to talk rather incessantly about ancient runes with the doctor who was clearly not particularly adept at bedside manner and kept making these annoyed “humpf” noises while he worked. Vala stayed through the drops stage despite feeling rather weak-kneed when she saw the apparatus that was ‘fitted’ into the eye as a delivery method. Daniel would have found the sheer size of it fascinating had he cared. Instead he was only semi-lucid the more that the drug took effect and was reduced to grinning rather goofily at her and telling her over and over that he “really really really loved her ya know?”

When she saw the eye block needle she was stunned. It was around the size of a turkey baster with a four-inch needle on the end…stainless steel with a plunger system. When the doctor inserted metal rods to pry Daniel’s eye open, she made a hasty retreat behind the curtain trying not to vomit. “Right out here my darling, just want to give the doctor a sterile field,” she called to him.

Daniel answered, “Okay sweetie…” before the doctor brusquely ordered him to be totally still and not to speak. It was over in about five minutes, and then she was by his side again walking along side the gurney as they wheeled it down the hall. When they reached the “Restricted Area” sign, the doctor had the decency to give them a moment.

“I will see you when you are out of recovery okay Daniel? You okay?”

“Kind of okay. Was not ‘happy’ enough for that huge needle thing…”

Vala wheeled around on the anesthesiologist, and snapped, “For pity’s sake Doctor, give him enough to sleep through the rest of this ordeal!” The expression ‘hell hath no fury…’ seemed coined for Vala Mal Doran.

The doctor nodded enthusiastically, “Absolutely Mrs. Jackson! I wasn’t aware he was in discomfort. I’ll top him up in the room.”

“Didn’t hurt...just gross…” a stoned and rather child-like Daniel babbled. “Val baby? Really really really glad about the baby…”

And with that, he was whisked away into the operating theatre.

Vala walked slowly to the waiting room. She was feeling quite nervous and the light-headedness had returned. When she reached the room, she was pleased to see that Sam and Teal’c were there waiting as well. The room itself was a wretched yellow colour and the chairs hardly looked inviting. As she entered, Teal’c stood and smiling slightly, took her into his massive arms. The embrace was so unexpected that Vala burst into tears, laying her head on his chest allowing his strength and calm to steady her. Sam was stunned; she had never seen Teal’c so spontaneously affectionate and so outwardly demonstrative.

Teal’c waited until Vala pulled away from the embrace and then lead her to the pale blue vinyl chairs. “ValaMalDoran, you do not look well. Can I be of any assistance?” he asked quietly.

“Oh, I’m fine I think. I just hadn’t expected the pre-op procedures to be so well….the word nauseating comes to mind. But I am fine now I think. I’m very glad to see you both though, thanks for being here.”

Samantha took her hand and patted it. “Do you want anything? Decaf maybe? Or some juice?”

“No, I’m good for the moment thanks. It should be about 3 hours before we can see him. It is unnerving to think of them cutting into his eye and removing it’s ‘contents’ and the needle they stuck into his eye looked like something out of a Goa’uld torture…” she trailed off and shuddered. “It’s good though you know, that they have the ability to fix this so…”

She was interrupted by the arrival of a rather officious looking man in his mid-fifties. “Mrs. Jackson?”

“Well, not yet but soon,” Vala answered.

“I have been instructed to escort you and your friends to a more suitable waiting area,” he spoke warmly but rather conspiratorially and with an air of reverence. “The President phoned a few minutes ago. He suggested a more private location would be prudent given your husband, sorry, fiancé’s, importance.”

The three of them smiled at the hushed tone and knew that Daniel would blush rather deeply had he been there.

“Oh, okay…lead on!” Vala said brightly. Anything was better than spending the day in a urine coloured room on a hard plastic chair reading magazines from the Clinton era. They were shepherded through a labyrinth of corridors until at last they stood in front of a inauspicious door. Their escort entered a four-digit code on a keypad and the door opened automatically. As they entered the room, Sam audibly gasped.

“Will this room meet your needs?” their host asked sincerely.

“Should be adequate,” Sam laughed. The room was lit by incandescent rather than fluorescent lighting. It was a lot like a penthouse room at the most exclusive hotel she had ever stayed at in D.C. One entered the room into a large sitting area with two large brown leather couches and two large matching chairs. There was a large screen television and entertainment center with literally hundreds of DVDs. On the other side of the room, there was a small kitchen complete with a fully stocked refrigerator. In it, Vala found a multitude of fruits and fresh salads, homemade soup, casseroles. The freezer was filled with ice cream and popsicles. “This place is bigger than my first apartment!” Sam laughed.

In a separate room, behind French doors, lay the patient’s side of the suite. The hospital bed was queen-sized and adorned with taupe sheets and a gold and black abstract-designed comforter. The furniture was all cherry wood from the bedside tables to the large dresser and mirror.

There was a huge walk-in closet as well. Vala began rummaging around inside it, emerging with a grin. “Full of pajamas, bathrobes, extra pillows and blankets. Impressive. I hope that Daniel is well enough to at least enjoy this place.”

Suddenly, Sam could be heard from the bathroom, “Holy Hannah! Vala, come in here!”

Vala entered excitedly. “Teal’c you have to see this!” Vala gushed.

Teal’c had been rather bemused by the whole affair and had settled in quickly to perusing the DVD collection. He sighed and headed toward the bathroom. There was no one in it although it was a nice room, serviceable. “ValaMalDoran, I am in the bathroom. You are not however.”

“We’re in the other one!” she called, the giggle clearly present in her voice.

Teal’c found them. “Indeed. This is impressive. Most impressive.” The room was done in cream marble. There was a huge separate shower with a rather intricate set of water jets on all three walls. “Well, that would be most refreshing.” The bathtub was in the far corner. It was a large Jacuzzi, with room for two actually. Every fixture in the room appeared to be plated with gold. This room was also fully stocked with toothbrushes, shampoo, and thick fluffy white towels. Nothing was missing that one might ever imagine using in a bathroom. Including an electric razor.

Vala was beside herself with delight. “You Taur’i sure know how to treat your VIPs. Daniel will be quite embarrassed by it all I suspect.”

“Given that we usually sleep in the woods, and eat crap military food? I’d say so. You guys should try and book this place for your honeymoon! When are you two tying the knot anyway?”

“Huh? Tying what?”

“It’s an expression. When are you two getting married?”

“Two weeks from today if he is well enough. In our garden. Paper work is all done; the President gave me a passport and documents. Apparently, I was born in New Zealand but came here in 2001 to work for the Air Force. Became a citizen in 2008.”

“Wow, impressive. Who’s officiating?”

“Actually, that’s the nicest part. No one. Apparently in Colorado couples are allowed to…. what’s the word? ‘Solemnize’ their own weddings vows. So we can keep it just ‘in house’ so to speak. It’s going to be very small and informal. Daniel isn’t up for a big showy event and well, it just isn’t part of my tradition so….”

“Ladies, can I interest you in movie? I have a few suggestions and it would pass the time more quickly. Why don’t you choose one ValaMalDoran?”

She walked over to the large coffee table to take a look…”Oh very funny Teal’c: For Your Eyes Only, Snake Eye, Golden Eye, The Eye, Mickey Blue Eyes, The Hills have Eyes, Out of Sight….” She laughed as she walked over and hit him with The Bourne Ultimatum. “This one should be good for a laugh, I heard Siler talking about it the other day, another government conspiracy movie. He said, ‘Hilarious movie, if they only knew the shit we’re really hiding…”

“Perfect choice then,” Sam giggled. “I’ll make us some lunch.”

They spent the next two hours snacking and watching the movie and before she knew it, she heard a door in the other room open and Daniel was wheeled in. He was pretty wide-awake which surprised everyone. “Hey there,” he said with a weak smile.

“Hey yourself,” Vala whispered in his ear while she stroked his hair from his forehead. “You’re awake.” The orderlies ably transferred Daniel into the bed and Vala tucked him in.

“Where the hell are we? The Ritz?” Daniel said as he felt the bed and its furnishings.

“Pretty much actually,” Vala answered as she got onto the bed from the other side. “Presidential room, or maybe royalty. It’s incredible actually.”

“Can’t see much, but the thread count on these sheets must be at least 600 and they’re Egyptian cotton,” he mused.

“I see you are back to your usual analytical self Dr. Jackson,” Sam laughed softly.

“Hi!” Daniel said enthusiastically. “What are you doing here? I thought there was a scouting mission on…”

Teal’c interrupted, “CameronMitchell took SG-9 with him. We wanted to be here.”

“Teal’c? Gosh, it’s good to hear your voice.” Daniel always felt somehow ‘safer’ whenever Jack or Teal’c was nearby. “How’d you get past security?”

“Hat.”

“Ah,” Daniel snuggled closer to Vala and the other two wisely exited the room, closing the large French doors behind them. Then a pair of young nurses were suddenly in the room.

“Are there hidden doors or something?” Vala asked.

“Kind of,” the red-haired nurse answered pointing to a spot on the far wall. It was a siding door and there was no clearly visible handle. “If you need us urgently, you just need to press the bell; otherwise we’ll be in every hour or so to check on ‘your delicious man’, she thought to herself, “ah…Dr. Jackson. He is our only patient.”

“And I mean…if you need anything,” the tall brunette gushed eagerly. “My name is Chelsea and this,” she pointed at the other nurse, “is Courtney. Can I take your vitals ‘sexy man she thought’, “er…Daniel?”

“Well she’s a lot bolder than the other playmate of the month!” Vala contemplated. “Yes,” she said aloud, “of course you can take DR. Jackson’s vitals; excuse me darling, I’ll just step out…”

“Don’t you dare go anywhere!” Daniel said fiercely.

“It’s fine, Mrs. Jackson. Just doing pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. Are you in any pain Dr. Jackson?” Nurse Courtney purred.

“Actually, I am. Feels like someone cut my eye open and sucked out the contents.”

“We’ll give you a shot!” Nurse Chelsea piped up clearly imagining what his naked ass would look like. She was practically salivating at the mere thought. “Morphine, Demurral…” She sounded like a cross between a drug dealer and a waitress listing the specials of the day.

“I think a Tylenol 4 should be enough actually. Just to take the edge off. I’m not a huge fan of heavy narcotics,” he laughed and pulled Vala back into his arms.

“Your wish is my command,” Chelsea said in a low voice, and then they were both gone momentarily.

“Are you sure you don’t need something stronger Danny?” Vala asked in concern. “You don’t need to be so stoic.”

“Mmmm….you called me Danny. I like it. And I’ve been tanked up on drugs often enough to know what level of pain relief I need…so not being stoic. It’s just a headache and weird pain in the eye.”

“You look rather scary at the moment darling. One vacant eye staring blindly and half your face covered in bandages. Your face and other eye are all bruised. What the doctor do, lean her elbow on your face while she worked? Sheesh!”

“Apparently, I look good enough to those sweet young things…”

“Here we are Dr. Jackson,” the nurse chirped and assisted him in drinking a bit of water to wash down the pills. “You need anything else?”

“Nope. Got everything I need right here,” he said sweetly, pulling Vala in closer and kissing the top of her head.

“Okey dokey…”

“Is she gone?” he whispered to Vala.

“Yep. And since when did you notice women checking you out? You never notice at the mountain or well, anywhere actually.”

“I have super-sonic hearing and vast superpowers now. Actually I think it’s a question of focus. When you can’t rely on visual cues, you tune into the subtle shifts in tone and pitch. Women’s voices get higher when they are flirting.”

There was a soft knock on the other door and it opened slightly. Jack pushed his head in, “You up for one more visitor?”

“Jack!” Daniel beamed, “What the hell are you doing here? Isn’t there some earth shattering crisis in Washington?”

“Na, the President is just marking time till the election and he is enjoying flexing his executive privilege while he still can. Anyway, he likes to loan me his helicopter, I think he’s looking to go on a mission before he steps down, but no way is that gonna happen! Wow, man oh man, you should see this place! And it comes with its own live Barbie dolls…”

“Shut up Jack! I can’t see a thing,” Daniel laughed heartily. “Oh great! It hurts to laugh, thanks a million!”

Jack walked over to the bed and pulled up one of the fancy chairs beside it. “Seriously Danny-boy,” he said putting his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, “you okay?”

“Fine. Just getting sleepy,” Daniel yawned.

“Get some rest. The rest of us are having a party in the next room. T.’s got us watching Hairspray. God, I hate musicals but Teal’c’s having a rip roaring good time. Seems he admires John Travolta. It’s my own private hell listening to show tunes. Apparently, I get to choose the next one…gonna go with Transformers. Get some rest and I’ll see ya later.”

Daniel and Vala were both already asleep when he finished talking. Jack laughed and said under his breath, “Usually it’s me that falls asleep in one of his briefings…” He walked over the closet and found an extra blanket. Draping it gently over Vala, who was lying on top of the comforter, he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead protectively before turning to go.

“Jack?” Vala murmured sleepily, “I was wondering if you could give me away at our wedding…”

‘Sure, you betcha. It’d be my honour.”

When he entered the sitting room, Cameron had already joined the group. “How’s the patient sir?” he asked deferentially.

“Off duty Cam, call me Jack.”

“Okay sir, I’ll try.”

“Well, he looks like hell but he seems fine otherwise. That Vala’s a wonder you know? He’s just so damn happy all the time these days. And it seems I’m gonna be the father of the bride at this little shin-dig.” He ambled over to the couch Sam was sitting on and plopped himself down with his head in her lap, “When is this shin-dig anyway?”

“June 26th, if Daniel is well enough. Hey, did you know that couples can act as their own officiates in this state? That’s way cool!” Sam idly stroked Jack’s head.

“Father of the bride eh?” Cameron chimed in. “That’s really nice. You the Maid of Honour then Sam?”

“She hasn’t asked me but I’d love it. It’s just going to be a small deal so I won’t have to wear one of those god-awful bridesmaids’ dresses with creepy dyed shoes. But Cam, I really don’t know if she’ll bother since, in case you haven’t noticed, she ain’t from around these parts! Not every bride wants all the bells and whistles. Some of us don’t even want a wedding.” Sam looked down into Jack’s beautiful brown eyes lovingly. He reached up and pulled her into a small kiss.

“Well, I sure do,” Cameron said, “even if the woman of my dreams doesn’t.”

Jack raised an eyebrow and looked up at Sam in confusion. Sam met his gaze, silently conveying her confusion as well.

“CameronMitchell is in love with my Ishta’s younger sister,” Teal’c announced suddenly. “I’ve been schooling him in the ways to woo a Jaffa woman. He has become an excellent warrior and is almost as skilled with a staff weapon as I am,” Teal’c explained without arrogance. “He has also learned much about our ways, our language and he daily practices kelnoreem with me.”

“And she still won’t go out with me!” Cameron said petulantly.

Understanding dawned on both Jack and Sam at the same time and they began to laugh.

“I fail to see the humour in CameronMitchell’s unfortunate state,” Teal’c said reprovingly.

“We thought…” Samantha giggled hysterically, “That you and Cam were….”

“A couple,” Jack said simply.

Teal’c began to laugh in his deep baritone. His laugher was so rare that even a red-faced Cameron joined in the hilarity. “Hey, why is it so laughable? I’m a good-looking guy! Lots of offers…lots of offers…”

“Indeed. You are a handsome young man,” Teal’c said, and began the booming laughter again. “However, as you know, I am mated with Ishta. There can be no other, no matter how tempting you may be CameronMitchell.” He began to laugh again.

“I must say I’m slightly relieved,” said Samantha. “Although we would have supported you both if that was the direction you were going.”

“Absolutely,” Jack assured them, “sorry to hear you’re having such a rough go with this….what’s her name Cameron?”

“Esh’a,” Cameron said wistfully.

“Her name means ‘the desired one’,” Teal’c said solemnly.

“Ironic,” Jack chuckled. “No, but seriously Cam, how the hell you’d let this happen?”

“Have you seen this woman Jack? She is incredible. Gorgeous, intelligent and she can kick my ass in a fight. I met her when T. took me with him when he went to visit Ishta right after we got back from the Odyssey.”

“It had been many years since I had beheld her,” Teal’c said quietly.

“Ask her to the wedding Cameron,” Sam suggested. “She’ll come. You’re quite a catch, and no doubt she knows that. Women like to be pursued sometimes…don’t give up.” She ran her hands through Jack’s soft hair affectionately.

“What’s say we get this movie going…” Jack suggested. “Is there anything to eat in this place?”

Vala woke an hour later and extricated herself from Daniel’s arms. She crept silently from the room and slipped into the next room.

“All’s I’m saying is that an F-302 could have totally kicked Megatron’s ass!” Jack grumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.

“Nope. Would’ve taken the Daedalus to obliterate the bastard,,” Cameron insisted, “Even Optimus Prime couldn’t defeat him…oh hey Vala! You’re up.”

“Cameron, how’d the mission go?”

“Boring. Left SG-9 there to finish up. How are you?”

“Fine. Starving though. What’s for dinner?”

“I put a lasagna in the oven an hour ago,” Sam answered, “Got a nice Caesar salad and what appears to be fresh-baked bread.”

“Great! I’m starving,” Daniel said as he appeared in the doorway. He was wearing navy silk pajamas, a plush navy robe and slippers.

“How did you find all that stuff Daniel?” Vala asked in shock.

“Rang that little bell thing and two eager women appeared. Jeez, this place is equipped. Do I smell pie? Someone want to point me in the direction of a chair or something?”

Vala lead him to the other couch and settled him in under the blanket that Jack had leaped up to get. Sam put a pillow behind his back and maternally eased him back onto it.

“Gee, I feel positively…”

“Presidential?” Cameron offered.

“Well, I was going to say, loved.” Daniel said genuinely.

“That too Daniel,” Jack laughed. “That too.”  
*************************************  
Later, when they were alone, Vala ran a bath in the huge tub and lead Daniel to it. As he sat in the warm water, he ran his hand around the edges, touching the cold tiles. “What is this? Italian marble? Oh for pity’s sake! I didn’t need this kind of treatment.”

“I wouldn’t argue with the President,” Vala replied, gently easing herself into the tub. “Now let me start by washing your back. Just relax. Want the jets on?”

“Yeah,” Daniel said dreamily. “Gotta admit, this sure as hell beats the infirmary at the mountain. Always wanted one of these things. Wanna refit the master bath at home?”

“Sure, but we can skip the Italian marble and gold faucets.”

“Gold?” Daniel was incredulous.  
**************************************The next day Daniel woke before Vala. He’d had to admit, it was odd having her with him in a hospital but no one seemed to have a problem with it. The nurses had stopped checking his vitals around midnight and given him some more pain meds. He’d slept like a rock. He gently roused Vala with some gentle kisses.

“Mmmmm…wanna sleep Danny,” she said groggily.

“Good morning everyone,” chirped a new nurse who had entered the room by stealth. “Breakfast is on its way and the doctor will be up to remove the dressing shortly after. Should have you out of here by 1:00. How’s the pain this morning my dear?”

“It’s not too bad, I can probably ratchet it back to Tylenol 3,” Daniel said truthfully.

Vala sat bolt upright and took careful note of the new nurse. She was not a Barbie doll at all but a middle-aged, slightly round, woman with a bright smile. “Hello,” Vala said somewhat sluggishly. “What time is it?”

“Seven o’clock Mrs. Jackson. I took the liberty of picking out some fresh clothing for you. Just throw the nightgown in the hamper in the closet. I also ordered a hearty breakfast since I’m sure you’re famished. I certainly was when I was pregnant, all four times!” She handed Vala a soft robe which Vala donned as she slipped into the slippers that were placed by the side of her bed.

“Um….thank-you!” stammered a flabbergasted Vala. This woman was a marvel. “Can I have a shower do you think?”

“Absolutely! Enjoy. I’ll take care of Dr. Jackson for you. Not to worry.”

When she emerged from the bathroom, Daniel was sitting up in bed, eating breakfast from a bed table that had magically appeared. “Vala? That you?”

She padded over to the bed and sat down. “Is it good?”

“Not as good as you make me sweetie,” Daniel said, “but a whole lot better than you’d expect in a hospital. Can you believe these Belgian waffles?”

“They brought in a new outfit in my size Daniel. Can you believe this place?” She lifted the stainless steel lid on the other plate. “Gosh, I don’t know if I can eat all of this! But I’m hungry enough to try. How are you feeling this morning Daniel? You look better than yesterday, well at least what I can see of your face under all that bandaging.”

“I feel pretty good. Still a bit sore but not intolerable with the help of these.” He reached out to grab the bottle of pills from his bedside table and shook them.

“How’d you see where those were Daniel?”

“Sight gets better in the other eye all the time. It’s really cool. I can for example see that you have some rather sparkly little clips in your hair. Very fetching,” he reached across and rang his finger from the barrette down the side of her face before lifting her chin and kissing her sweetly. “Can’t wait to get you home…”

“Oh, I see,” she said with a shudder. “Better check with the doctor first though.”

They finished their breakfasts and lay back against the upright back of the bed. Daniel dozed off again and Vala lay with her head against his chest, enjoying the rise and fall and the contented little noises he made while he slept. She didn’t really notice when the door opened and the doctor came into the room.

“Good morning you two!” Dr. Leonard said just loudly enough to stir them.

Daniel woke up easily, having really only been dozing, “Hi! Tell me you’re here to take off this darn bandage.”

“Yep. The surgery went very well yesterday. Piece of cake actually.”

Daniel tried to sit up more despite the fact that the bed was already fully raised. “No, no…no need. Just lay back comfortably. This won’t take long. Nurse, can you dim the lights please. Don’t want to blind the poor man,” she laughed at her own joke.

Vala rose and stood at the end of the bed, trying to keep out of the way but not wanting to be too far away if he needed her.

The doctor simply reached up and peeled the surgical tape off and then told Daniel to close his eyes and deftly removed the rest of the dressing. “Okay, now slowly open your eyes,” she silently made a plea that he be able to see right away. Daniel slowly opened his eye, squinting a bit in the light, even as low as it was. He looked directly at Vala and began to smile broadly. “What do you see Daniel?” the doctor asked hopefully.

“I see my beautiful Vala, looking decidedly pregnant and wearing heart-shaped rhinestone barrettes in her raven hair. And I see that she has started crying. Come here,” he said and outstretched his arms. Vala launched herself into his arms and they held each other laughing and crying at the same time oblivious to the medical personnel who were standing around.

“Well, I need to do a few tests but I’d say that the surgery was a success?” When neither of them answered but continued to hold each other, she opted for a swift retreat. “I’ll be back in an hour. The tests can wait.” Dr. Brianna Leonard grabbed a tissue on her way out of the room and dabbed at her own eyes. She loved miracles.


	8. Chapter 8

“We need to figure out a few things about his wedding of ours Daniel,” Vala implored. She was standing over him somewhat ominously, casting a shadow over the page of his book. “It’s less than two weeks away and all I have is my dress and I’m hoping that it still fits although I just bought it last week. I am ballooning way faster than with…. than with…”

“Adria. It’s okay Vala; I know you had a child before, you know,” Daniel said softly. He had ensconced himself on the couch as soon as they had arrived home and had been idly sitting flipping through a book marvelling at how well his right eye could see. He closed the book and put it on the coffee table and pulled Vala onto his lap. She laid her head in the hollow of his neck and sighed deeply. “What’s wrong? Other than worrying about the wedding and your dress size? And just for the record, you are absolutely gorgeous, all curves and softness, the most feminine and desirable…” he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

“I never thought I’d be a mother again,” she spoke in a small quiet voice. “Well, I guess I wasn’t ever really a mother was I?”

“Yes, you were. And she was a part of you, no matter how she came into the world.”

“And I tried to kill her,” Vala said.

“Well, she was trying to destroy our galaxy,” Daniel reminded her.

“Still, it isn’t exactly the kind of nurturing one should give to a child now is it?”

“She wasn’t human Vala. Our baby is,” Daniel chuckled, ‘you will be an amazing mother, even if your are a bit of a fruitcake.”

“Seriously Daniel…”

“Vala, you are the most generous and loving person I have ever known. Quirky? Yep. So am I. The kid is bound to be slightly…. what’s the word? Unconventional? Eccentric? Original? Unpredictable? Interesting?”

“Weird. ”

“Yeah, but in such a cool way.”

“Like you then?”

“Like you, I’m simply unusual, you my darling are downright odd.”

“Yeah yeah…you love it,” she smiled up at him.

“Let’s get back to planning this wedding shall we? What was it you wanted again? Hoop skirts and a polka band right?” He put his hands on her bottom and pulled her closer.

She swatted his hands away, giggling as she put them back around her waist. “Who is coming anyway? I left that part up to you. I don’t have any friends outside of the SGC. And I have no idea whatsoever where my father is.”

“Okay, so it’s Jack and Sam, Teal’c and Ishta, Generals Hammond and Landry, Carolyn, Cassie, Mitchell, and Walter.”

“Good. Let’s talk about food. I was thinking about a barbeque? Steak, chicken, some nice salads, really simple,” Vala explained.

“Jack’s gonna want barbeque power!” Daniel joked. “What about dessert?”

“Fresh strawberries since they’re in season and San was going on and on about some sort of chocolate fountain she’s wants to bring. I pretended to understand but…”

“You are going to really like that part so I’m going to keep it a surprise. I hope you agreed?” Daniel asked hopefully.

“I did. I felt stupid not knowing what it was and thought it was ‘required’ somehow. Are you telling me it isn’t?”

“No, not required but definitely something you will enjoy! Too bad Chaka isn’t invited! Pretty sure he would arouse suspicion in our neighbours! Although, they’ve taken to Teal’c quite easily.”

“He’s taken to wearing a baseball cap. They all think he’s trying to hide going bald,” Vala giggled and wrapped her arms around Daniel’s neck. She kissed him softly and then nuzzled his neck. “You written your vows yet?” she asked shyly.

“I haven’t been able to see to write anything but I have them composed. I don’t have to write them down. What about you?”

She pulled back and looked him directly in the eye, “I wrote the first draft the day we picked up the license. I’ve been revising them pretty much daily since then. Nothing sounds right. It all sounds sappy or trite.”

Daniel could feel the tension returning to her body. “Wedding vows are supposed to be sappy. I assure you mine probably are! Just write from your heart; anything you say will be beautiful if it’s true to you.”

She smiled at him and looked up over her dark lashes, her love for him naked in her grey eyes. He kissed her gently, slowly intensifying it by tugging on her bottom lip until she opened to him. Their tongues met and sensuously danced with each other. Daniel loved kissing her this way; slowly allowing each sensation to stand alone as if it were a single entity, each moment building upon the one before, until the sum of the parts brought a sudden rush of passion between them. A small moan floated up from somewhere deep inside her and, at its sound, he felt the tide surge in him as well and suddenly he was in the moment, in his body. The heat of flesh and blood encompassing any rational thought, banishing anything other than his hunger for release.

His hands roamed feverishly over her body, and he undressed her, without conscious thought of buttons or zippers, until she was naked in his lap. Then unexpectedly, chest heaving heavily, he leant back against the couch and looked at her, really looked at her. “God, you are beautiful,” he said roughly, his eyes traveling her body aimlessly, trying to take all of her in at once. “Truly magnificent.” He began kissing her body, as if he would map it with his lips. Each kiss was distinct as he explored her body leisurely; eyes wide open studying her as if he was memorizing every inch of her. When he began to descend towards her breasts, she sighed deeply and sat up straighter to grant him easier access. As his own arousal deepened, his kisses became sloppier, his tongue tracing intricate patterns on her throbbing flesh.

When he unexpectedly took her right nipple wholly into his mouth, sucking, nibbling and licking simultaneously, she leaned back and wrapped her legs around him, grinding herself against his engorged penis. He stopped and gently tipped her face until he was looking into her eyes. He could see the arousal in their depths and it only heightened his own; she rocked against him again and he groaned. “Vala, stop and let me just look at you,” he pleaded. She stopped, breathing heavily.

“God Daniel, I want you,” she whimpered.

Her body was flushed with passion, nipples erect, full breasts moving up and down with her breath. Daniel took a few moments to gaze at all of her, noting the contrast of her raven hair with her ivory skin, the slight pink blush that crept up from her straining pelvis, the soft fullness of her abdomen and the rosy tips of her round breasts. Each hue entranced him and he considered each carefully; a small smile began as his eyes traversed her supple form until at last he was grinning from ear to ear. He laughed joyfully.

“Daniel, I fail to see the humour in this moment; you’ve got me so hot and bothered and now you’re laughing at me,” Vala pouted.

“Can’t help it. I just can’t believe I paid so little attention to the visual landscape of your incredible body before,” he said with a look of pure elation on his face. “Not making love to you in the dark ever again.”

“You’re pretty attractive too and if you don’t take off our pants this instant, I won’t let you look at me when I come,” she said with a sly smile.

“Okay, I’m hurrying up now...” he said eagerly and began struggling to free his sizeable erection. It wasn’t easy with her on his lap, running her tongue around his ear, but he finally freed himself. He took her by surprise when he thrust inside her and marvelled at the look on her face. “God Vala, you feel so good,” and he thrust into her again.

“Daniel, you’re talking way too much,” she whispered, “A little less conversation, a little more action…” He answered her with another thrust and a hungry growl. She began to half-rock, half-bounce, upon his thick, substantial cock and it was her turn to look at him. He laid his head against the couch and half closed his eyes, the pleasure written on his face.

“Daniel, look at me,” she commanded and stroked him again. But Daniel was lost in the sensation of her hot wetness sliding up and down him. She grabbed his head, forcing him to look into her eyes. “Look at me,’ she said fiercely. “I’m going to come so look at me,” She held his head in place and looked into his eyes while she rocked on his shaft. Her eyes locked with his, she began to climax, tightening and shuddering around his penis.

“Val.,” he moaned as she came, her eyes wide open and locked with his. He felt her hot juices spraying out of her and she clamped down hard on him “God, you look so…oh God,” he whimpered and began his own orgasm, her hands still holding his head in place, watching as the shockwave of pleasure slammed into him and he exploded into her, eyes wide open. Afterwards, they stayed in place, he still inside her, forehead to forehead, both panting unevenly, aftershocks shivering through their bodies. There was a long silence while they regained their senses but they still gazed into each other’s eyes.

Words slowly returned to the effusive linguist. “That was incredible,” he gasped. “Possibly the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced,” he sighed and pulled her to his chest. “Profound actually, watching you, so intimate, God it was fantastic, like we shared the same soul...so primal…”

Vala began to shake with laughter and she dropped a kiss on his nose, “So, you liked it then Dr Thesaurus?”

“Yeah, it was pretty damn hot,” he said simply.

“Indeed,” Vala said imitating Teal’c.

“Shit, we need to get presentable pretty fast, he could walk in at any moment! It’s almost dinner time,” Daniel said slightly panicked.

“You’re still dressed,” Vala pointed out, “But you definitely need to ah…change those pants though. Why don’t we take a shower? And then make a nice supper for the three of us?”

Daniel felt a twitch of response from below and smiled deviously at her, “Shower huh? Certain regions of my body are stiffer than others and would welcome your um…massage in the shower.”

“Really?” Vala was genuinely surprised, “So soon? How fascinating. That’s a pretty quick rebound for a man your age, darling.”

“I have better inspiration than most men my age; now get up those stairs so I can watch that fabulous bottom of yours.”

“You are a very dirty boy,” she teased and grabbed his hand, tugging him to his feet and leading the way up the stairs.  
**************************************  
The next morning, Vala woke early and quietly slipped downstairs. She wanted to tidy up the kitchen before breakfast since she and Daniel had started the dishes after Teal’c retired to his room for the evening and they hadn’t made it past the loading of the dishwasher before he’d wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed his erection up against her bottom. “I think that might be a record for us actually, four times in a 4 hour time period!” she mused as she padded down the stairs. It was already 9:00, but since Daniel wasn’t ready to go back to work, there was no hurry. She looked forward to a leisurely day finishing up the wedding plans and enjoying each other. She smiled languidly at the memory of the evening before reflecting on the passion in her lover’s eyes as he beheld her. “Mmmm…” she murmured leaning back against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and wrapping her arms around herself as she recalled his sleepy goodnight “Je t'adore, mon cher amour, ma chérie” and how he had fallen asleep with his head on the space between her breasts and tummy, softly stroking the roundness that was their growing baby. She caught her breath at the memory and her eyes filled with the very best kind of tears.

Collecting herself, she walked into the kitchen to find it spotless. Teal’c. He must have come up after they went to bed and tidied up. “I love you Muscles,” she said aloud and began instead to make coffee. She wasn’t having any of course but Daniel could easily drink a whole pot on his own. While the coffee brewed, she considered her options for breakfast, deciding at last to whip up a nice ham and cheese omelette. Her culinary skills were impressive and she quickly sliced some green onions and ham while the butter melted in the skillet. She got the eggs beaten and then added her not so secret ingredient, heavy cream before adding all the ingredients, including the provolone cheese into the ready pan. She had made this so often for Daniel that her timing was precise and the coffee, toast and omelette were ready simultaneously. She arranged it all a breakfast tray and headed back upstairs.

She entered the room and placed the tray on the bedside table and, leaning over his still-sleeping form, she kissed his lips and said, “Hey sleepyhead…we can’t spend all day in bed.” He opened his eyes slowly and smiled up at her. “I brought you some breakfast Danny,” she said warmly. “Your favourite, I believe.”

He sat up eagerly and dragged both pillows behind his back so that she could put the tray on the bed. “Mmmm…. breakfast in bed? What have I done to deserve this kind of special treatment?” He rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses. With his hair tousled he looked particularly sexy. Vala climbed in on the other side of him and stole a piece of his toast before lying down and using his shoulder as a pillow.

“Oh I dunno Daniel, might be the eye surgery, gimpy leg, or maybe,” she paused meaningfully, “maybe, it’s the 7 orgasms you gave me last night. Mmmm…let me think…. Yep, it’s totally the screaming orgasms…. otherwise, you could have gotten your own damn breakfast.” She licked his shoulder suggestively. “Hurry up stud, I have plans for you…”

“Can I finish my breakfast? Maybe brush my teeth first?”

“Take as long as you want, I’ll just be lying here pleasuring myself…”

Daniel practically inhaled the rest of the omelette and sprinted to the washroom. When he returned, his erection pointed the direction to the bed. He beheld a wanton Vala lying naked, eyes half closed, one hand fingering herself and the other stroking her nipples. He began to stroke himself too as he stood at the side of the bed watching. “Daniel?” she called and opened her eyes. Seeing what he was doing she locked her eyes on his penis and continued her attentions to her throbbing clitoris matching his rhythm, and periodically taking her slick fingers and circling them around her nipples.

She watched him, transfixed as his penis became slick with arousal, all the while stroking herself. “You look so sexy Danny,” she said huskily, “wouldn’t you like to fuck me?” She knew how much it turned him on when she talked dirty and the moan he made only egged her on. “I’m so wet for you Danny, sure you wouldn’t like to fuck me with that thick cock of yours?” He moaned something unintelligible and dropped his hands to the bed to steady himself. “Want to slip that hot dick of yours into my wet pussy?” she purred.

“Uh-huh,’ he croaked.

“That’ good, because I really need to be fucked hard.” She crawled on all fours toward him and he practically pounced on her, forcefully entering her in one fluid movement. “Oh yeah, I think I remember you,” she teased.

“Yeah?” he growled and slammed into her steamy depths again. “Who am I?”

“Aren’t you that bookish archaeologist, um…what his name?”

He pounded into her again and she thrust up into him making him groan. “Dr…. gosh, his name escapes me.” He plunged into her harder, with three or four deep strokes. Vala moaned and dug her nails into his strong back.

“Say it Vala…” he rasped.

“I…ah…oh yeah, you’re Bob…or is it Joe….” she panted. He drove into her again vigorously. She grabbed his buttocks and pulled him even deeper and then wrapped her legs around his waist and began pulling him into her even harder.

“You know I won’t stop till you scream my name,” he growled fiercely.

“Harry? Oh god! Bill?..ahhh…Matt?…oh….,harder, yeah, fuck me harder…Bruce?….oh god….harder!…Mike?…yeah, oh god that’s what I need….” She was reaching a pitch of passion and Daniel knew it wouldn’t be long before she exploded in a fiery orgasm.

“Like this Vala?” he began to grind into her harder and harder, accelerating his rhythm as she writhed beneath him.

“OH…..OH….” she cried out as her orgasm seized her. “Daniel!” she screamed and began to come, her body putting a stranglehold on his penis so he could feel each pulse of her release. She kept coming, and by her third orgasm he was screaming her name as well before they both collapsed onto the bed.

She was the first to speak. “You know, no one would ever believe what a tiger you are in bed. Mild-mannered bookworm my ass! You’re very naughty, very naughty indeed.”

“You corrupted my innocence,” he said sarcastically.

“Mmmm….”she murmured, ”Sure….”

“So, how many times have you come in the last 16 hours….I count 10…I have only had 5. So your ratio of wantonness to mine? 2:1”

“Before you, I hardly ever did at all,” she said flatly.

“Now that is interesting…it might merit further study…let me see…how many times can I make you come in say…a 24 hour period? I’m estimating that with the first 10 counted, and beginning at what time was it? 4:00 o’clock yesterday, and it’s 10:00 now, so that leaves me 6 hours….mmmmm….I could probably easily fit in another 20 before 4:00 this afternoon; with time factored in for catching your breath of course…and given my current rate of refraction, even though it is likely to ease off today, I could probably manage four.”

“Well, you’re mighty pleased with yourself aren’t you? The all-powerful Daniel Jackson!” she teased, “I’m putty in your hands darling. Actually I’m putty with pretty much any of your parts…As attractive as your ‘theory’ is, and as much as it would be fun to test it…let’s say 2 for you and maybe 8 for me and spend the rest of the day planning the wedding? I don’t want to break anything…I plan on nailing you hourly on our honeymoon,” she yawned and settled herself into him like a cat.

“Okey dokey…” he stroked her hair and kissed her forehead as she nuzzled under his arm and draped her arm over his chest. “We settled the food yesterday except for the cake.”

“I’m going to make it. I won’t bother with all the layers I see in every photo of a wedding on this planet but I was thinking of making a nice white cake with fondant icing and some sugar flowers. I’ve wanted to try my hand at them and well, I do have a knack for that kind of thing.’

“One of your many talents…” Daniel yawned and pulled her close against his body. “Let’s have a nap and then we’ll plan the music.”

“Sure,” she nestled against him breathing deeply, “You’ve worn me out.”  
**************************************  
Later, as they sat at the kitchen table eating lunch, the subject of music was raised. “Well, Sam has agreed to play the cello for when Jack walks me down the aisle, no real aisle though but you get the idea.”

“God I hope she isn’t going to play any Handel or Bach, they’re so sorrowful…”

“We’re gong with the Beatles actually. Blackbird to enter, Here Comes the Moon after the deed is done,” Vala said brightly.

“Sun.”

“What?”

“It’s Here Comes the Sun honey,” he explained. “Both are interesting choices, I particularly like Blackbird.’

”Sam said you would; something about how I’m a blackbird or you are; she got all ‘deep’ about it. Do you get it? I don’t really know the songs.”

“Let me find them so you can hear the words,” he hobbled over to the cabinet that was full of CDs and began scanning the stacks. “Should alphabetize these I guess or at least group them by artist…okay, found it. Now come and listen and tell me what you think.”

The song began, “Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.”

“Definitely about me,” Vala said quietly.

“Black bird singing in the dead of night take these sunken eyes and learn to see. All your life  
you were only waiting for this moment to be free.”  
“Nope. It’s me,” he laughed.

“Blackbird fly, blackbird fly into the light of the dark black night.”

“Okay then,” Daniel said softly, “that’s a perfect song for he two of us. Sam is really good at this stuff.”

“Yep, she’s good. What’s the other song about?”

Daniel skipped to the song and settled back on the couch to listen. Vala cuddled up next to him and smiled contentedly. “Another inspired choice,” she said and sighed deeply, “she’s really good at this.”

“So, we have that part settled; what are we going to do after the food? Daniel queried.

“I was thinking we could string up some paper lanterns or something to light the patio and turn it into a mini dance floor, nothing too elaborate; just present the opportunity for people, but, I would like to have at least one dance with you.”

Dancing?” He pointed at his injured leg

“Yes, and you can hobble around quite well and you know it. Teal’c’s workouts have put you back almost to normal, so stop your whining.” She looked up at him shyly, “Can we choose the song together maybe?”

“Sure…I guess,” Daniel was feeling really nervous for some reason. “But I can’t abide by some god-awful over the top smultzy ballad.”

“Such as…”

“Can I Have this Dance for the Rest of My Life? is a good example, or,” he shuddered involuntarily, “Tonight I Celebrate My Love for You. I just couldn’t do it.”

“Didn’t you celebrate your love for me four times last night?” Vala snickered. “Actually, I haven’t even heard those songs but I think I may have vomited a little in my mouth from their titles alone. Let’s find something we both like. Grab your favourites from the cabinet and we’ll get started.”

“You know, I think I have an idea that would be fun; it’s something everyone on the team, especially Jack, will enjoy and it’s a really nice version of the song that I have in mind. I’ll have to buy it I think though or download it…shouldn’t be hard.”

“Uh…okay as long as it’s not that ghastly Simpsons music or the hockey song that they play at the beginning of all those games Jack picks up from Canada on the satellite,” Vala giggled.

“Rest assured darling,” Daniel laughed, “it’ll be ‘sweeeeet’!”

“Could you explain to me why it is that Jack says ‘sweeeeet’ all the time? Is there some sort of cultural meaning that I am missing?” Vala asked seriously.

“You know, if you want, I can explain all the possible origins of the current usage to you,” Daniel was clearly excited at the prospect and, standing up, he continued, “The word sweet comes from the Old English word ‘swete’ which meant ‘pleasing to the senses, mind or feelings’ but that word likely originated with the Proto Indo-European word ‘swada’ or the Sanskrit word ‘swadu’. The word is really over 5 thousand years old! The current idiomatic use of the word, I think, originates in New Zealand with the slang expression “sweet as” which is used to indicate something gratifying…actually the expression ‘sweet as’ is used in Northern Ireland as well, although it is primarily limited to urban areas, especially Belfast. It may be that that expression was shortened…it will require more research…” Daniel was clearly revved up by her question and he had begun pacing and talking with his hands, not really even looking at Vala after the words ‘current usage’ had left his lips.

“Daniel?”

He had walked to the window and was gazing out it, looking vaguely at nothing in particular, deep in thought.

“DANIEL!”

He was jolted back to reality, “Y…yes?”

“Please come back to planet Earth. You really don’t need to more research. My curiosity is way more than satisfied,” Vala gently mocked him. “Don’t make me sorry I asked.”

“Well, if you didn’t want to know, you shouldn’t have asked!” Daniel snapped.

“Well I certainly didn’t expect you’d go all Sanskrit on me. And what the hell is Sanskrit anyway? No no, DON”T answer!”

“Whatever,” Daniel pouted.

“Oh come on Daniel, you do tend to go a bit over the top when it comes to etymology and, by the by, you’ve been pacing without a limp so don’t keep milking the bad leg thing!”

“Did you say ‘etymology’?” Daniel asked with a grin, his brief irritation evaporating.

“Yeah, so what? I know all sorts of big words you know!” she grumbled.

Daniel walked slowly back to the couch, “Oh you do, do you? Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know! All the words I hear you using all the time, I guess.”

Daniel sat down at the end of the couch; turning toward her, he leaned his back against the arm and flopped his feet onto her lap unceremoniously. “Tell me,” he said seductively and licked his lips.

“Okay. But this is really weird you know?”

“Uh-huh, yep, totally weird. Spill it.”

”Polyglot.”  
“That’s a good start,” he sighed.  
“Anthropomorphic.”   
“Also nice. Keep going…”   
“Resistivity… genome….potsherd,” she said deliberately turning to look at him.  
Daniel’s breath hitched, “Jesus Vala, you’re really turning me on.”   
“Atomic absorption spectrometry,” she said, her voice becoming huskier with each word.  
“Val, this is….mmmm.” He eyes were half closed and his erection was tenting his loose fitting sweatpants.  
Vala made careful note of it and smiled devilishly before slowly saying, “Amino-acid racemization” making sure to emphasize each syllable.  
Daniel moaned. She began to crawl up his prone body slowly. “Lexicostatistics,” she said breathily into his ear.   
“Oh god, Val, that’s so sexy,” he said and pulled her face toward his. His eyes were wild with desire.   
She pressed her mouth against his, so that his lips could feel hers form the phrase, “Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.”  
At that, Daniel grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue far into her mouth. She melted into him, amazed at how aroused he was, enjoying the feel of his hard penis beneath her. After several minutes of deep and passionate kissing, she pulled back panting, “You’re a fruitcake ya know.”   
“Well, just for that you have to give me one more word or I won’t let you taste this fruitcake.”   
She smiled sweetly at him, “philology.”  
“That’ll do it,” he croaked and in one swift and fluid movement flipped her on her back and hovered over her. “Now, I have a new word for you,” he said, his voice thick with arousal. “Kaantaa.”  
“Mmmm that’s nice. What does it mean?” she asked dreamily.  
“It’s Sanskrit. It means my beloved.”  
“Oh Daniel,” she laughed and pulled him to her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wedding and a surprise announcement from Vala.

Wedding day-June 26, 2008

The morning of the wedding Vala woke early, leaving a sleeping Daniel sprawled out on his stomach, naked and uncovered. It had been a warm night even with the air conditioning and she hoped the day would be slightly less humid. She had lain awake half the night listening to a thunderstorm, and fretting that it would be raining the next morning. It wasn’t that they couldn’t hold the ceremony inside the house; there was plenty of room for the small number of guests but she really wanted to be able to have the party in the garden. And, if she were honest, she’d been up worrying for the past two nights and not about the wedding.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could hear Teal’c making breakfast in the kitchen. “ValaMalDoran,” he said with a hint of a smile, “is this not a beautiful morning?”

“I haven’t looked yet. Please tell me it’s not raining.”

“It is not. It is clear and sunny.”

She rushed to the patio doors and walked outside barefoot. It was indeed a fabulous day, blue sky with big fluffy white clouds and no humidity. She slipped back inside to find Teal’c at the kitchen table eating. “Well Muscles, I guess this is it! Even the heavens are cooperating.” Vala slid into the chair across from him.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Teal’c asked with a concerned look. “Are you feeling butterflies?”

“Butterflies? What the heck does that mean?”

“Butterflies are said to fly around in human stomachs when they are nervous; I have often heard Sam remark upon this phenomenon.”

“It’s…what does Daniel call these things? Oh yes, an ‘idiom’. Earth’s languages are filled with them. Apparently they make it difficult to learn to speak English on this planet. Don’t ask Daniel to explain unless you want an Earth history lesson complete with diagrams though!” she laughed.

“Indeed. He’s a passionate talker,” Teal’c smiled at her, or rather the corners of his mouth went up slightly, a clear sign that he was amused. “Are you feeling nervous?”

“I’m surprisingly calm,” she smiled and sighed deeply. “At least now that I know the weather will hold.”

“Good. I have a request of you ValaMalDoran,” he asked solemnly. “Would you object to another guest? Ishta and I both wish to advance ColonelMitchell’s cause. She would like to bring her adopted sister Esh’a to the wedding. It is our hope that the romance of the day will facilitate her admiration of his prowess.”

Vala nearly choked on her orange juice at the word ‘prowess’, but she held herself together long enough to answer, “Absolutely no problem Muscles,” before she nearly collapsed laughing.

“I fail to see the humour once again,” Teal’c gently scolded, “Why do you all find his plight so amusing?”

“I really don’t Muscles. Sorry,” she giggled.

“Is there something I can do to assist in today’s preparations before I leave to meet Ishta at the gate?”

“Tables, chairs, stringing lights…” Vala responded hopefully. “If you have time that is.”

“I shall begin immediately,” he rose and inclined his head before heading outside to begin.

“Hey Teal’c?” she called after him.

“I really love having you here.”

“I am happy to be here as well.”

 

It was several hours later when Daniel finally awoke. He reached for his glasses and then peered at the clock. 10:00 a.m. He swung his long legs over the edge of the bed before standing, stretching, and stumbling toward the bathroom to brush his teeth. Gazing at himself in the mirror, he was pleased to see that most of the bruising around his eyes had faded and that his eye no longer carried the red tinge of a vampire. He was also badly in need of a shave and his hair was a mess but there was no point in doing anything about it until closer to the wedding. He settled for washing his face and decided to head down for breakfast.

“Daniel?” Vala called when she heard him on the stairs. “I’m in the kitchen.”

Daniel snuck up behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. “Whatcha doing?” he asked sweetly.

She pivoted in his arms and snaked her hands around his neck. “Making potato salad, but I can fix you something if you want.”

“Well as sexy as it is to have my woman barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, I’ll just grab some coffee and toast. Then, I’ll give you a hand.”

“Not much left to do darling. Teal’c has set up the back yard, the cake was finished yesterday and I’m pretty much finished except for combining the stuff for the potato salad. Sam’s doing that strawberry thing, Jack’s bringing the alcohol, and Cam’s bringing another salad.”

“Good. What about letting me set up the sound system?”

“Sure. Jack said he’s bringing some of his CDs because and I quote here, ‘All Daniel’s got is that damn depressing boo-hoo stuff’. I told him it was okay. Hope I did the right thing.” She looked moderately worried, as Daniel seemed vaguely annoyed.

“Trust Jack not to appreciate jazz,” he huffed.

“Well, you really can’t ‘dance’ to it can you darling? Although, I really like that Celtic stuff you play all the time. Is that jazz or opera?”

“Neither sweetie.,” he kissed her on the cheek while she quartered the potatoes. “What about the flowers?”

“Sam dropped them off just after 9:00. They’re in the fridge if you want to look at them.”

Daniel opened the door of the refrigerator and peered inside. There were just the two items: a dark pink rose for his lapel and a beautiful hand-tied bouquet of hot pink roses and pale pink gerbera daisies. “Vala, this is a really nice bouquet. I love those kind of daisies; of course I would deny it to anyone but you.”

“Oh, I’m so glad. I was afraid you would object to the pink rose. Jack said you would.”

“It’s a very deep pink actually and Jack is just teasing you. He knows I’d wear a rose in my hair if you asked me to,” he drew her into an embrace. “Now, why don’t we go back to bed?” he said rakishly into her ear.

“As tempting as it is to wile away the hours before the wedding making love, it might be nice to wait until tonight.” She dragged her tongue along his collarbone before kissing him softly on his full lips.

Daniel responded instantly and grabbed her bottom firmly, pulling her against his growing erection. “Don’t wanna wait,” he whined petulantly while thrusting into her more insistently.

She moaned softly and kissed him again, this time with full tongue. As the kiss intensified, she reached down between their bodies and dragged her hand up his inner thigh and across his turgid arousal several times before settling her hand on his chest, slowly teasing his nipple. Then suddenly, she pulled away from him entirely and placing her hand on his cheek she said seductively, “Sorry darling, just appetizers until later tonight.” He grumbled. “You’ll survive. Now go take a shower and for the sake of my delicate skin, shave?”

Daniel walked away, clearly still aroused and headed up the stairs frustrated but not really angry, muttering “Minx”, under his breath.

 

Several hours later, Vala stood surveying herself in a full-length mirror, not entirely happy with what she saw. Her dress fit her fine and she still loved it. It was ivory shantung silk, with a halter neck and a deep plunging neckline that showed plenty of décolletage but was not too sexy for the occasion. She liked how her pregnancy enhanced breasts filled out the top. There was a wide band of ruching that created a slightly empire waist and emphasized the narrowest part of her torso. There was a bow with long streaming tails to the left at the waist and both it and the halter portion of the dress were lightly decorated with seed pearls.  
The skirt was full and tea-length; it hid the baby bump quite effectively, not that she had cared about that. The problem was not with the dress, but rather with her hair. She had tried valiantly to make it look special but it looked boring next to the beauty of the dress. As she berated herself for her lack of skill with hairstyling, there was a soft knock at the door. “Who is it?” Vala called out, clearly irritated. “It better not be you Daniel Jackson! You are not allowed to see me before the wedding. Sam says it’s terribly bad luck and I’m not about to tempt fate.”

“It’s me Sam,” a soft voice responded. “Do you need any help?”

“Oh thank God!” Vala said in relief and threw the door open. Sam stood there looking lovely in a light blue floral dress and her blonde hair looked fantastic. “Do you have any idea how to do hair? I’ve made such a mess of mine and I really can’t put it in pig-tails can I?”

“First of all, you look stunning. That dress is going to throw Daniel off his feet. I’ve never seen you look more beautiful. What did you want your hair to look like?”

“Soft curls pulled up at the sides and fastened with this!” She threw a large pearl and crystal barrette on the bed in frustration. Tears were welling up in her eyes threatening to ruin what little make-up she was wearing.

”Okay, no problem. You got a curling iron?”

“Yes but I can’t use it properly. It looks so damn easy on the box but…”

“Okay, I think you should take off the dress again so we don’t get it ruined and then you just sit in the chair and I’ll do the rest. It will take about 10 minutes tops so stop panicking,” Sam said soothingly.

“Is everyone here already?”

“Nope. We still have half an hour. I haven’t seen Jack or Daniel for an hour. No doubt Daniel is in a tizzy about his hair too,” she giggled and Vala joined her.

“Daniel looks sexy in any state; the more rumpled, the more women gawk at him. It’s unfair really.”

Sam set to work curling small pieces of Vala’s considerable mane of long black hair. Vala marveled as each soft curl emerged from the tongs. “I think I figured out my mistake. I was taking too much at a time.” When all the hair lay in loose curls around her face, she grinned. “Exactly Sam, you’re a life-saver.” She passed her the barrette and Sam expertly drew the sidepieces up and pinned them at the back.

“How’s that? Is that what you were looking for? I can try something else if you want.”

Vala looked up at her in the mirror and answered with a sob, “Perfect.”

“Come on Vala, get a grip! We can’t have you walking down the aisle with puffy eyes and a red nose. And actually, you need to hurry up. That took a lot longer than I thought it would.” She assisted Vala with her dress and watched smiling, as she put on some low-heeled but very dressy silver sandals.

Vala stood and walked back to the mirror. She smiled at Sam’s reflection. “There now. Do I look like a bride?”

“You look quite beautiful Vala, as you are well aware. I’m going to get Jack. Are you ready?”

“I think I am.”

A moment or two later, Jack knocked on the door and she let him in. “Holy smokes Vala, you look really good.” He handed her the bouquet. “ Sam forgot to bring this to you, not that you really need it. Seriously, Daniel may drop dead.”

“Is he okay? I thought he might be a bit…ah…high-strung about this? Is he?”

“Oh yeah, he’s a mess. A lot of pacing and flapping his arms around. I’m used to it. He’ll be fine in the moment. Not to worry.”

“He’s having second thoughts? I knew it; I shouldn’t have pushed for a quick wedding.”

“Oh no, Danny’s not having second thoughts, not at all. Just a lot of nonsense about what tie to wear and basic nervous babbling. You know how he is. I told him no tie by the way; is that okay?”

“Oh of course, those things are so stupid and I never did get why you Taur’i bother with them. Like nooses actually and anyway, the whole thing is supposed to be simple,” she looked up at Jack nervously.

“Any butterflies?” he asked.

“Uh-huh…I don’t want to disappoint him. I’m not the normal blushing bride.”

“Vala,” Jack said earnestly, taking both her shoulders and looking squarely in her eyes, “you make him happy. I’ve never seen him this happy. He’s always been kinda ‘lost’ and wounded ya know? And all the stuff he’s been through left him a little ‘detached’ to say the least. You’re his home. Don’t worry about disappointing him. He adores you. So let’s get on with this thing! I’m starving.”

She laughed and took his arm and they headed down the stairs. As they reached the door to the garden someone must have cued Sam because she began playing. Vala caught sight of Daniel the moment she stepped out the door and she must have actually swooned a little because she felt Jack steady her before he said, “Ready?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, her heart in her mouth. Daniel was standing maybe 20 feet away and although she was sure there were other people standing there as well, she didn’t see them. He was wearing a navy linen suit and an open neck white cotton shirt and he looked so gorgeous she very nearly burst into tears.

As she and Jack walked slowly toward him, he began to smile broadly and she smiled back, her eyes locked with his. Jack stopped and before leaving her with Daniel, placed a little kiss on the top of her head; then he placed her hand in Daniel’s.

“You look gorgeous,” Daniel whispered to her.

“Likewise darling,” she said looking up into his dazzling blue eyes. “Nervous?”

“Nope. Not any more. You?”

“Yes, terribly nervous but let’s do this thing, okay?”

Sam finished the song at that precise moment and Daniel took the lead. He took a deep breath and turned to Vala taking both of her hands.  
Looking intensely into her eyes, he began. “Vala, the day I met you was the day that I became truly alive again and so here in front of our family, I choose you as my wife. I want you to know that I fell in love with you for who you are and I promise I won't try to reshape you in a different image. I respect you as a person with your own interests, desires, and needs that are no less important than my own. I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to strive each day to be worthy of the love you so freely give to me. I promise to love you as long as I am alive on this earth.” He chuckled softly and added, “Or any other for that matter.”  
Sam turned toward Jack and smiled, reaching up to wipe away the tear that had slid down his cheek. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. Cameron was staring intently at Esh’a who was standing on the opposite side of the group. She blushed deeply and inclined her head ever so slightly.  
Vala, who had been holding Daniel’s hands gently, suddenly put a death grip on them. “It’s okay, take your time sweetie,” Daniel said quietly. She took a deep breath, dropping her eyes for a moment, gathering her resolve. Daniel released one of her hands and cupped her face in it, tilting it up to his. Bringing his lips to her ear he said, “Kaantaa, just speak from your heart.”  
“I have it all memorized silly,” she said softly. “Daniel, you are my beloved. Every day we’re together, you do nothing but make me happy. Today and for the rest of my life, I choose you as my husband. I declare my love and devotion for you before the entire universe, which by the way you are not allowed to freely roam anymore.” The group laughed. “I want you to know how much I admire and respect you and the work that you do and I promise to encourage and support you in anything you choose to do, within reason of course.”

Daniel burst out laughing, “I’ve never been half the adventurer you are so I imagine I’m getting a pretty long tether?”

“Shut it Daniel. I’m not done yet!” She continued, “I promise to stand by your side through the best and worst of times, and to give you the best of what I have from now until the end of my days. And, I’d like you to kiss me now please.”  
“Bossy-boots,” he murmured so only she could hear and then took her into his arms and kissed her passionately. Sam began playing Here Comes the Sun expertly and the group broke into applause. After several moments, their friends moved forward to congratulate the couple who continued to kiss, completely unaware.  
“Oh fercryinoutloud Daniel!” Jack good-naturedly shouted. “Stop playing tonsil hockey! Let’s get this party started!” Daniel broke the embrace and stared into Vala’s eyes, pretty much oblivious to anyone else. “I’ll fire up the grill then…c’mon kids, let’s get the food out and leave these two lovebirds alone.”  
“So, that’s it then. We’re married?” Vala said breathlessly.

“Pretty much, we just have to sign those papers and it’s official. Your vows were nice; I liked them.”

“Yours were nice too,” she smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You are looking particularly sexy today by the way. I almost fainted when I first saw you.”

“I’m glad you approve, but you must realize everyone was looking at you; you look incredible today.”

“I was looking at you. I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks except you.”

“Well then, what I think is that I’m pretty damn lucky and…” he pulled her close to him again. “I’m thinking about taking that dress off you and making love to you all night.”

“Oh good, because I was thinking how much I want your hands on me,” she said matter-of-factly. “But right now, we have to host this little party.” She took his hand and led him toward their guests. “Oh wow, you’ve got everything under control don’t you? Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Not to worry,” Sam reassured, “you guys needed a moment.”

“More like 20 moments!” Jack laughed. “Think you two could keep your hands off each other long enough to eat?”

“Indeed,” Teal’c said with his usual reserve. He was his normal stoic self, except for the fact that Ishta was sitting on his lap.

“Thank-you for inviting me Vala. It was a beautiful wedding. And thank-you for allowing me to bring Esh’a. She was most intrigued by the ceremony. By the way, where is she?”

“Over by the willow tree with Colonel Mitchell,” Walter answered. “Congratulations Dr. Jackson, you are a lucky man.” He smiled shyly at Vala and then blushed.

“Walter, we’re so glad you could join us. It wouldn’t have been the same without you,” Vala reassured him.  
The rest of the group began to offer their congratulations as well and Daniel and Vala circulated for a bit. “I know you find this kind of thing excruciating darling,” she whispered in his ear after a while.

“No, this is nice, really. My leg is just getting a bit sore. I need to sit down for a bit.”

“Oh dear, of course! How badly does it hurt? Do you need a painkiller?” Vala asked, genuinely concerned.

“No, it’s fine. Really. Don’t fuss. I just need to rest it for awhile.” He hobbled over to the chairs and sat down, pulling up another one to elevate the leg. “Much better. Now c’mere.” He pulled her onto his lap and she nuzzled his neck sweetly. “Hey, look at Cam. He’s definitely making progress with Esh’a.” Cameron was still across the garden talking intently to the woman he adored and she seemed quite enthralled by his every word. They were standing a little too close for casual acquaintances. “Jeez Val, you can feel the heat from way over here!”

“I’m happy for him Daniel. He’s been really sad since we got back from our little lifetime trip on the Odyssey. She seems like a lovely girl.”

Esh’a was indeed a beauty. Her straight golden hair reached her waist and it shone like spun gold. She was tall, almost 6 feet, and athletically built. Her tight laced bodice and flaring skirt were both a dark red, and accentuated her fabulous figure. “She’s quite stunning actually,” Daniel, said appreciatively. “He has exquisite taste.”

Vala swatted him good-naturedly on the back of his head. “Married for less than an hour and already your eyes are wandering!”

“Actually, I just have the one good eye at present.”

“Yeah yeah…”

“Oh Vala, you know I only have eye for you.”

“Ha ha, you’re so funny,” Vala said sarcastically. “By the way, how is the other eye doing? We’ve been so busy, you haven’t mentioned it.”

“Not too bad. In fact, it seems to be clearing up well. I doubt I’ll need it ‘vacuumed’ at all.”

“Ewww!” Jack interjected. “No eyeball talk at the dinner table. The steaks are ready I think, if you want to ferry people toward the food. Well, I guess everyone is here except our latest lovebirds over there.” He pointed at the young couple who were holding hands and staring wordlessly into each other’s eyes. “Hey Romeo! Get your six over here now and that’s an order!” he shouted across the yard.

“Yes sir! Right away sir!” Cameron hollered obediently. He led Esh’a by the hand at a trot and stood in front of O’Neill practically at attention.

“At ease airman, I was joking. We’re about to eat and thought you might want to join us. How do you like your steak?”

“Rare sir!”

“Oh for pity’s sake, at ease! We’re not on duty.”

“Okay sir!”

The assembly laughed at them both, although largely at Cameron’s expense who was blushing deeply and looking very sheepish. The food was delicious and Vala was surprised at how hungry she was. “Eating for two I guess,” Daniel teased.

“Indeed,” Teal’c smiled a full smile and reached to pat her tummy, a rather touching gesture given his normally taciturn nature. Having Ishta with him had made him as giddy as he was ever likely to get.

Daniel had been right; Vala loved the chocolate fountain, making three trips to it in rather short order. “Samantha, that is really the most fabulous thing I’ve seen in a long while. What will you people think of next?”

“I dunno, maybe permanent press fabric that actually doesn’t need ironing!” Sam laughed. “Chocolate does seem to be one of the few things our planet can claim as exclusively ours. It’s something, I suppose.”

“When do you have to go back to Atlantis Sam?” Daniel interrupted.

“Tomorrow. I’ve really enjoyed being here for the month,” she said wistfully smiling at Jack who was currently fiddling with the music. “Who wants coffee? Yes Daniel, you were a given, so no need to make that puppy-dog face. Anyone else? I’ll bring it out.”

Jack followed her into the kitchen. “You okay Sam?” he asked gently when he was sure they were alone. “We still have tonight and your tour is almost up.”

“Oh Jack, I’m just so damn tired of this long distance crap. If it weren’t for Daniel’s injury and the wedding, we wouldn’t have been together for almost a year. As it was, we both basically jumped back and forth just to be with him as much as we could. I’m just tired and I really miss you.”

“Ah shucks, pretty lady!” he joked trying to cajole her into better spirits.

“Stop it Jack! It isn’t funny. You know how much I love you,” Sam said edgily.

“And I love you. We’ll pack it in early tonight okay? Make the most of our last night together?” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

“Yeah. Sounds good,” Sam whispered.

“Now, pull it together honey! We’ve got some dancing to do.”

As soon as they entered the back yard again, Jack walked over to Daniel, “Here’s your drug of choice Danny-boy. Drink up, it’s time to start the dancing.”

Daniel rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Don’t you dare touch that machine Jack, I’ve picked out something for the first dance already so don’t even think of putting on the Chicken Dance or something equally puerile.” He limped over to the stereo and put in the CD. “Mrs. Jackson, can I have this dance?”

“For the rest of your life?” she called back.

He held out his hand, “Get over here!”

She was in his arms in a second and someone pushed play. The song began with a long ukulele intro, and then an angelic male voice began to sing Over the Rainbow. There was a roar of laughter from Jack and Samantha.

“This is pretty,” Vala said as they danced. “Isn’t this the song from the Wizard of Oz?”

“Well, it’s a version of it. I thought it would please the masses,” he laughed tilting his head in the direction of their friends.

“Well, I couldn’t care less what song it is,” she purred. “Just like the feel of dancing this close.”  
He leaned in to kiss her, mindful this time of the audience. “I’m really happy,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Mmm…me too. You make me very happy.”

The song ended abruptly and Daniel wasn’t fast enough to stop Jack from putting in a new CD. “And in the immortal words of Paul Anka…” he announced loudly. The song began to play.

“What is this song?” Vala asked no one in particular. As if in answer, the lyrics began. Havin’ my baby. What a lovely way of sayin’ how much you love me.

“Oh good god, what is this?” she giggled into Daniel’s neck.

“God-awful crap from the seventies. I’d forgotten how hideous it was,” he laughed and spun her around. “Keep dancing. Let him enjoy himself.” The song continued, Whoa, the seed inside ya baby, do you feel it growin'.

“This song is most unusual,” Teal’c remarked to Sam. “Is this a popular song on this planet? It is almost unbearable.”

“It was a huge hit in the decade we would all like to forget; and yes, it is totally creepy. Which is of course what makes it so hilarious!”

I'm a woman in love and I love what it's doin' to me.

“Oh my god, this is the worst song ever written,” Vala laughed but then began singing along with the chorus, “I’m a woman in love and I love what’s goin’ through me.”

“Now that’s just nasty,” Cameron shouted. “Seriously Jack, stop the lambs from screaming.”

“I am unaware of any lambs at this party,” Teal’c said seriously.

“It’s an expression T.” Cam explained. “It means that something is so horrible, even lambs are screaming in agony.”

“An idiom?”

“A what?” Cam asked stupidly.

The song ended and Jack put on a rather upbeat song. Soon the other couples began dancing and Daniel and Vala headed back to the table. Generals Landry and Hammond were deep in conversation and that gave Daniel time to catch up with Cassie. Vala busied herself tidying up and Carolyn helped. They chatted about her latest ultrasound and check-ups that needed to be done. ‘Have you told him yet?” Carolyn asked with a smile.

“Getting there, still trying to digest the news myself and he’s had a lot to deal with lately. I think tonight’s the time though so wish me luck.” Carolyn laughed.  
Periodically each woman was asked to dance by the generals or Walter. Before long, it was getting dark and things seemed to be winding down. The guests slowly began to leave until it was just Jack and Sam that remained.

“Well Danny, it’s time we took our leave,” Jack announced shortly before 9:00. “Sam has to leave in the morning.”

“Yes, of course,” Vala smiled knowingly at Samantha who looked rather more sad than happy about the prospect.

“See you soon Sam, and thanks for being here for me,” Daniel added, hugging her. “It meant a lot.”

“I won’t be gone long,” she said resignedly.

 

“Well then,” Vala said wrapping her arms around Sam, “We’ll see you soon.”

 

And then, they were finally alone. Daniel stood and walked to the patio door. He smiled at her and held out his hand, silently beckoning her to join him. She walked slowly toward him, deliberately sexy, and enjoying his eyes upon her. “You called?” She took his hand, and followed him into the house. As soon as the door was closed and locked, he began to kiss her, tenderly and unhurriedly. It was with some surprise that he realized that she was shaking.

“What is it Vala? Are you cold?” he asked with concern.

“I’m suddenly very nervous,” she said softly. “It’s a lot of pressure, this whole consummating the wedding thing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, it’s seems like a big deal on this planet and everyone makes such a fuss about the wedding night. It’s supposed to be magical, and I’m a little freaked out actually.” Vala caught her breath and then continued, “I just don’t want to disappoint you if it’s not special enough.”

“You could never disappoint me in that regard, believe me. And anyway, we’ve made love hundreds of times, as that little bundle clearly announces to the world,” he smiled at her, his blue eyes dancing with delight.

“But now I’m your wife, so it’s different somehow. I just don’t know how, but it feels different.” She broke away from his embrace and walked over to the kitchen table.

“Oh-kaay…” Daniel said with some confusion. “What would make it more special? I mean other than the fact that we’re married now?”

“I guess I don’t want you to rip my dress off and take me on the counter is all.”

“What do you want?”

“To take things slow.”

“Not a problem. Can we at least go upstairs?”

“Okay, but you have to keep your hands off me while I get ready for bed; you look so unbelievably adorable I’m not sure it wouldn’t just end up with wild monkey sex.”

“But, I like wild monkey sex,” he laughed. “I’ll be good. Promise.”

She followed him up the stairs to their bedroom. “Okay, can you unzip my dress please Daniel? No funny stuff.”

“Absolutely,” he said, “turn around. I’ll keep my good eye closed so I won’t be tempted.” He began to gently kiss her exposed back instead of unzipping her immediately.

“Daniel, that’ not fair. You know what that does to me.”

“No, what does it do for you darling?” he asked in mock innocence. The truth was kissing or stroking Vala’s back was usually a sure fire way to get her in the mood and he knew it. She huffed impatiently. “Okay okay, I’m unzipping.”

She turned and glared at him reprovingly. “Play nice mister!” She wagged her finger at him and smiled wickedly as she scampered out of his reach towards the bathroom, which once inside she promptly locked.

He laughed and went into the closet to hang up his suit jacket. “Might as well get these pants off too,” he mused. “Oh hell, let’s lose all of it, she deserves it!” he chuckled softly before discarding the rest of his clothing and walking naked back into the room. He slipped into bed and picked up the most recent Harry Potter novel, a guilty pleasure he’d picked up from Vala. He’d read the first six in the two weeks since his release from the hospital and he had to admit they were very enjoyable: he was almost as entranced as he had been when he was 12 and first picked up Arthur Evans’ Scripta Minoa. Tonight though, it was all a sham designed to annoy the new Mrs. Jackson, who he was sure, was about to enter the room in some sort of get up designed to make his eyes pop out of their sockets. He tried to imagine just what she might choose for such a special evening: Corset, g-string, fishnets…mmmm…that would be fun. Or maybe leather, she looked really hot in leather…thigh high boots…see through baby dolls…his mind was rife with the possibilities.

When he heard her softly say, “Daniel?” he was startled back into reality. He turned to look at her and was unprepared for the vision she presented. She was wearing a long ivory silk gown with a large v-shaped lace panel that began at her navel and broadened gradually, ending at her breasts, revealing their roundness but still concealing her nipples. The gown floated away from the body, at the same time as clinging to her curves. The back of the gown plunged all the way down to the dimples in the small of her back. Over the gown, she wore a diaphanous chiffon long-sleeved full-length robe that floated behind her as she walked toward the bed. Daniel, transfixed, stared at her with his mouth hanging slightly open. “Is everything all right?” Vala looked close to tears again. “You look as if something is wrong. Oh, I knew this was too much of a cliché but Sam told me it was beautiful.”

Daniel struggled to regain his breath, managing to gasp out, “You’re beautiful.” He got out of the bed and walked toward her unsteadily, the blood having drained from his head. He gently removed the robe and laid it on the bench at the end of the bed and then put his hands on either side of her face, pulling her into a long, slow and knee-weakening kiss. His arousal had been evident from the moment he first walked toward her but now he was quite literally throbbing with desire. He lifted her off her feet, and carried her to the bed, laying her down gently. Then he just stood there looking down at her, his adoration written on his face.

She blushed under the intensity of his gaze. “So, you like it?” He nodded mutely and sat down on the edge of the bed, turning sideways and placing his arms on either side of her shoulders. He leaned down and kissed her again, lips firm, not hungrily devouring her mouth, as often was the case. It was the kind of kiss that made her moan as she felt her entire body opening and melting at the same time. He pulled back and looked at her again. “My Daniel…” she sighed.

He spoke at last, “You are so beautiful. Like an angel,” he murmured and stroked her hair

“I hate to interfere with the bliss of this moment my love, but if I am an angel, I’m a very very naughty angel,” she teased, gently stroking the side of his face.

“Well, now that you mention it…” he kissed her again, more deeply than the previous kiss. She whimpered and pulled him on top of her before rolling them onto their sides. Her hands began to freely roam his body, enjoying the feel of his flank as he pressed his leg between hers.  
“I don’t think I’ve said this enough but you are beautiful Daniel Jackson, all hard angles and muscle.”

“Oh yeah? There’s a particularly hard part of my body…’ He gently placed her hand on his engorged penis.

She wrapped her hand around it and stroked, “Also, a rather beautiful thing to behold,” she said in a low, sultry tone. She held it firmly and kissed him roughly, her passion overwhelming her desire to go slowly. She squeezed her thighs tightly around his leg and drove herself into it, in time with the rhythmic stroking of her hand on his increasingly slippery penis. He moaned in abandon, “God Vala, if you keep that up, I’m not going to last very long.”

“Okay, shifting gears then…” She sat up and slipped her gown over her head and tossed it beside the bed. He propped himself up on his elbows and enjoyed the unveiling, watching her intently. She smiled slightly and then suddenly dropped her head to his lap, taking him wholly into her mouth. He groaned loudly, and she smiled around his shaft, before intensifying her attentions. She could feel his heightened arousal as it swelled in his already substantial penis. She teased it upwards, only to stop before he came in her mouth. She enjoyed the power of the moment, as he mewled and writhed in pleasure. She was surprised then when Daniel flipped her on her back and took a more dominant position. “Well, now who’s a bossy-boots?” she laughed.

“My turn,” he growled and spread her legs gently. “Just try and make me stop!” He swooped in and dragged the tip of his tongue across her swollen clitoris. She moaned softly, so he did it again and again with the same result. By the time he began in earnest to suck and lick her, she was mere inches away from orgasm. He knew exactly how to make her come and thrust two fingers into her, stroking slowly on her G-spot. She shrieked and thrashed about in a powerful climax, but he didn’t stop his licking and probing, propelling her hard into another orgasm, and then another. She was gasping for air but he kept on, switching from his tongue to his cock, sliding it up and down the entire length of her slick folds until she began to come again. At the moment it first began to take hold of her, he thrust into her and pushed her over the edge. She was howling and shuddering, spraying her hot come all over him as she arched and shook beneath him. He waited for her to quiet and then lowered himself to kiss her hotly. She responded fiercely and wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to force him to thrust into her. He smiled and pulled out of her. “I haven’t finished with you yet,” he said silkily.

”Oh God Daniel, please…please….” He began to lick and suck her nipples, and she writhed under him in response. He circled one with his tongue and stroked the other, wanting to see how long she could stand it, what would happen if he didn’t give in to her frantic pleas that he slide into her depths and ride the crest of her pleasure. He continued and she yelped and moaned, making throaty “uh-uh” sounds as she arched off of the bed. And then suddenly, she was coming again, harder than before, shooting more of her liquid in powerful spurts.

He continued the stroking and licking until he was sure she could not possibly have any more left in her and then took her gently into his arms and rocked her soothingly. “Love you, my darling,” he said holding her close to him as she regained her senses.

 

“You are going to totally pay for that!” she finally said and pushed him onto his back.

“Good, been looking forwa…” his reply was cut short by the mind-numbing heat that had just encompassed him. Vala slid down hard on him, and began to squeeze and release from the inside only. There was no other movement at first and Daniel lay there inert as his mind melted away in pleasure.

“Oh, so you like this?” she said coquettishly and slid up slowly before slamming down again. Daniel offered no reply except a soft hissing noise as he arched off the bed. “What about this?” She slowly moved up him, clenching and releasing in agonizing little steps, before coming down in a sudden rush. Daniel started making a great deal of noise, but none of it intelligible. She continued her efforts, dragging his writhing body closer and closer to the edge, enjoying the look on his face as he hung so very near release. His eyes were open, but un-seeing and his hands were lying helpless at his sides.

Each stroke elicited a guttural moan, somewhere between a growl and a scream, and the look of total abandon on his face was something she had not seen before. Reaching behind her bottom, she stroked his testicles softly, before finding that little spot beneath them that was guaranteed to make Daniel howl. She began to gently strum it and in a sudden rush, his climax began. All she could do was hold on and enjoy the ride as he thrashed and bucked beneath her and she felt the hot spurts of his release filling her. The intensity of his orgasm gave her a great deal of satisfaction. As she watched the pleasure transform his features, she continued her interior pumping until he collapsed beneath her, spent.

Gently, she released her hold on him and lay down next to him murmuring words of comfort and stroking his face. They lay there in silence for many minutes, as he slowly re-joined the land of the living. When he was fully recovered he gathered her into his powerful arms and held her tightly against him. He wanted to say something that would indicate the depth of his love for her but couldn’t find the words. Instead, he just held her tighter.

“Daniel?” Vala was first to speak.

“Mmmmm…”

“Was that ‘okay’?”

“What?”

“Did you like that?”

“Are you kidding me? I think the answer to that question is patently obvious,” he laughed softly.

“Well sorta, but…I still need to hear it.”

“You’re weird you know that? But, yes darling, that was so good, I think I actually blacked out.”

“Oh,” she said still not entirely reassured.

“Vala? What is it?”

Her reply was a strangled sob. “What is it darling? Shhhhhh…” he whispered and held her even tighter. “It’s all right…shhhh.”

 

“I…want…” She hiccupped the words out in fits and starts. “I…want…to…”

“Blow my mind? Torture me to death with pleasure? What darling?”

“I want to be enough for you, want to be a good wife, make you happy…I’m just afraid of…” she broke off with a sob.

“Afraid of what?” he asked gently.

She sniffled and then blurted out with a sob, “Disappointing you.’

 

“Did you even listen to my vows honey?”

“Uh-huh…but…”

“But what? You think you have to be different now that we’re married?”

“Well, yeah. All those shows on television, the wives are like…perfect…and all those chick flicks always end with the beginning of a relationship or marriage and…”

“You don’t know what a wife is ‘supposed’ to be like?”

“I guess. You know even though I cared for Tomin, my entire time with him I was…well…’acting’…so that I would survive long enough to get…”

“Back to me?”

“Yep, pretty much.”

“Vala, I want you to listen carefully okay?”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want some wooden stereotype of domesticity. I don’t want you to become anybody different. I don’t want a conventional life, never had one, and don’t want one now. You are perfect…for me. You. Only you. Forever.”

She signed deeply and forced the words out, “Okay, but we are soon to become a group.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, the baby…looking forward to that too.”

“Babies.”

“What?!”

“You heard me,” she whispered. “Babies. Two of them actually. I’m not as far along as I thought, just getting big fast because...”

“There are TWO of them???” Daniel leapt from the bed and began pacing the room, hugging himself from time to time, or waving his hands around clearly in a panic. “How LONG have you known this?”

“Two days. Oh I knew you’d freak out like this. Carolyn said, ‘no, he’ll be excited’ but I knew you’d be angry. That’s why I didn’t tell you right away…I was afraid of…”

“You were afraid of me?” Daniel interrupted incredulously.

“Well, yeah,” she said almost inaudibly. “You’ve already had so much to cope with lately and this,” she pointed to her abdomen. “These…just seemed like a bigger burden.”

“I’m not angry,” he said softly and sat down beside her on the bed. “I’m scared and now I’m upset because you were afraid to tell me.”

“I’m sorry,” Vala sniffled and then started to cry again.

“You shouldn’t be. I should. I am.” He smiled shyly at her. “Two babies?”

“Yes.”

“Well that’s an interesting turn of events. Are you feeling okay?”

“Physically, I’m fine. Emotionally? Kinda still in denial; I thought it was just a routine thing or I would have taken you to the appointment but when I told Carolyn how much movement there was and then she couldn’t get a distinct heartbeat…she whisked me into the ultrasound room and before I knew it she was laughing and telling me that there were two of them.”

“Two babies….” Daniel said again and smiled broadly. “Well, I did say I wanted an unconventional life…” He reached and pulled Vala to him, practically suffocating her with the strength of his embrace. “Always hoped to have two children, so I guess this a short-cut of sorts!”

“I have to see a specialist in town now; Carolyn was adamant. Apparently because of my age, and the fact that there are two, I am considered ‘high risk’ whatever that means,” she aid petulantly.

“It means that you have to take it easy. No more off-world stuff for starters.”

“What about the honeymoon? Carolyn said that it would be fine at this early a stage.”

“Oh yeah, that’s fine. When is the new due date by the way?”

“Mid-December. Before your Christmas.”

“Do you know what they are yet?”

“Twins, Daniel. I stopped listening after Carolyn said twins. Why? Do you want to know ahead of time?”

“Yep. I’ve had enough surprises lately. You don’t want to know? Because if you don’t I can wait, I mean it’s totally up to you.”

“I’d like to know I think.”

Daniel grabbed the phone and began dialling.

“Daniel, it’s 11:00 at night! You shouldn’t be calling Carolyn this late….”

“Hey Carolyn, sorry to call this late…Oh good, Vala was afraid I’d wake you…well, thanks, yes we enjoyed it too…yes, she did, she looked very beautiful…look Carolyn, the reason I called was well, Val told me about the twins...thank-you, I’m very pleased…uh-huh…good…that’s great. Listen, when you did that ultrasound? Oh, she has pictures? That’s’ great…anyway, what I was calling about was to ask whether or not you could discern what the genders of the babies were? Oh, okay…not your training…. right, well thank-you for making that appointment…no, actually we aren’t leaving until the 1st, so the 28th will work fine…. good night.”  
Vala started talking before he had the chance, “She’s sending us to a more skilled ultrasound person with what’s called a second level ultrasound…yep, it’s all coming back Daniel. I’m so sorry I forgot that until I heard you mention it again…”

“It’s okay sweetie…now where are those pictures of our little sproglets?”

“Sproglets? Are you insane?”

“Totally. Now let me see if this new eye can tell a blob from a baby and get those pictures!”


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Two days later, Daniel and Vala waited nervously for the technician to come in and start the ultrasound scan.

“All I can say is that if he or she does not bloody well get in here soon, I’m gonna burst…I mean seriously, you drink all this water and then you wait 30 minutes PAST your appointment…It’s a wonder the Goa’uld didn’t try this torture technique!”

“Shush,” Daniel said rather more harshly than he had intended, ‘we’re out in the real world so can you try not to breach security protocols? And anyway, the nurse said you could go and ‘take the edge off” so why didn’t you?”

“Spoken just like a man! Have you any idea what would happen if I tried to pee just a tiny bit now? Tsunami, that’s what! As it is, I swear the two of them are using my bladder as a trampoline. So it’s easy for YOU to tell me…”

“Good morning Dr. and Mrs. Jackson. How are we this morning?” a chirpy technician, who looked barely out of diapers herself, interrupted.

“Ducky darling, just blooming ducky! Now can you get this thing started before I pee all over the floor?”

“She’s a bit uncomfortable,” Daniel explained, clearly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Jackson, these things are not easy, especially with twins. So why don’t I explain what I’m doing as we go along?”

Vala nodded sweetly but turned her head and stuck out her tongue at Daniel. The technician squeezed a lot of jelly onto Vala’s round abdomen. “Okay, first I am going to locate both babies and make certain there are in fact only two.”

“There could be more?” Daniel sputtered.

“Oh yes, we sometimes miss the third or even the fourth if we stop looking at two.” She giggled girlishly. “Rare. But it happens and it’s important that these kind of things be discovered before the delivery room!” Vala reached over and put a death grip on Daniel’s hand. “Okay, so I have located both babies and there are in fact only two. See, this is baby A and this,” she moved the wand to the other side of Vala’s uterus, “is baby B.” Daniel stared, mesmerized by the image. “Just taking some measurements now to see how they are growing.”

Daniel looked at Vala, smiling broadly. “This is incredible, fascinating really,” he said clearly awestruck. “Isn’t this interesting Vala?”

“Uh-huh, I guess. It’s hard to concentrate when someone is pressing a wand-thing, into your over-full, bladder!”

“Won’t be much longer Mrs. Jackson. It’s uncomfortable I know but you are doing great.”

“At the moment, I count not peeing all over the linoleum as a monumental achievement so thank-you I guess,” she snapped. Daniel grimaced but quickly became engrossed in the screen again.

The technician continued, ”You look to be about 17 weeks along and both babies are growing well. Two perfect little babies, separate placentas which means it’s likely they’re fraternal or the egg split right after conception.” She was quiet for a while as she clicked images and took careful measurements. “Oh look, baby A is sucking his thumb, well not really, but that’s what it looks like, absolutely adorable.”

“It’s a boy then?” Vala asked excitedly and looked over at Daniel who was staring wordlessly at the picture.

“Well I’m sure this one is; he’s quite an exhibitionist,” the technician giggled again. “I should have asked you if you wanted to know, sorry, it kind of slipped out.”

“I wanted to know,” Daniel said softly. “Can you tell what baby B is?”

“Well, let’s see,” she began a thorough exploration of the second baby. “Just let me be sure.” She pressed a button on the intercom, “Sylvia? Can you come in here and confirm gender for me? Well, it’s clear to me but I want to be sure” She flashed a bright smile at Vala. “Is that okay?”

“Sure, why not? Bring in a whole battalion!” Vala said through semi-clenched teeth.

Daniel laughed and continued to stare at the screen. The second technician came in seconds later. “Now let’s see if we agree with each other. It’s always kinda fun.” The technician moved the wand over baby A. Sylvia laughed and said, “No doubt about that one! That is a boy!” She looked then at baby B. “Oh come on Marie, that’s a plain as the nose on your face. Whatya calling me in for?”

“Well, I got the last one wrong and I want to be sure. Girls are harder to figure out.”

“It’s a girl,” the other technician said and patted Daniel on the back. “Congrats Daddy! One of each, and you,” she reached over and squeezed Vala’s hand, “you take care of yourself Mommy.”

Vala smiled and asked plaintively, “Can I please pee now?” She left Daniel staring at the photos with a goofy look on his face.

 

“Where to now darling?” Vala asked from behind the wheel. She had been given a driver’s license shortly after Daniel’s accident and was quite good at it, even though she preferred to be the passenger. “Daniel? Earth to Daniel….”

“Huh? Did you say something Vala?”

“I asked you where you would like to go?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. Home, I think.” He held both photo strips in his hand and continued to stare at them without a word.

“Daniel? You haven’t said a word since we left the hospital. I’m really happy. I wanted a little boy and I’m happy about the girl too, although I’d be lying if I didn’t think identicals would have been fun. Two little myopic baby Daniels running around would have been wonderful. But one of each is way easier I think in terms of…”she trailed off tangentially and Daniel wasn’t really listening anyway.

He was running things through his mind over and over. He was going to be a ‘daddy’. Now that was a terrifying thought and one that he had only considered in the abstract until now. But with photos of these two little humans moving around, alive inside her? Couldn’t get any more real than that. Couldn’t deny those little heartbeats or the flood of panic at the thought of being a ‘daddy’ to two kids…. forever…couldn’t deny the flood of love he felt for those little beings inside her either. He had been afraid he’d start bawling right there when he saw that little girl. Felt about ready to burst with pride that his little boy was moving his little hands. And he wanted to tell everyone; well, actually, he admitted to himself, he wanted to tell his parents. A lump formed in his throat and he pushed it down deep into the pit of his stomach. “I wish my mom and dad were here,” he said out loud.

“Me too. They’d have been very proud of you.”

“Proud of my ability to sire offspring?” he laughed.

“No silly, proud of the man you’ve become.”

“Thanks honey.” His voice was choked with emotion and he continued to stare aimlessly out the window. By the time they arrived home, Daniel was feeling a little more secure. “You know who’ll be tickled pink about this? General Hammond.”

“Daniel, we’ll call everyone in the morning. I’d like to have a quiet evening with just the two of us and you know that if you call Jack he’ll be over here with the whole gang, except Sam of course, and well, I want to have a bit of time to just be.”

“Thought Jack was back in Washington by now.”

“Nope. He’s taking a long weekend here. He goes back on the 1st, which, by the way, is when we leave on our honeymoon isn’t it?”

“Yep.”  
“Where are you taking me by the way? I need to know what to pack”

“I’ll pack for you,” he teased and settled down in the big leather chair in the living room.

“Well, that’s a stupid idea now isn’t it? You don’t even know what still fits me, which by the way isn’t a whole heck of a lot. I’m big as a house!”

He patted his lap, silently beckoning her to sit on it. “God, you weigh a ton!” he laughed and tickled her. “What have you gained…5 pounds?”

“Seven actually.”

“Right, and so it’s like maybe 2 pounds or so a week for the rest of the pregnancy. My God Vala, that’s as much 50 pounds! Horrifying, truly horrifying!” He kissed her nose.

“Blah, blah, blah, you’re not the one turning into Java the Mutt,” she pouted.

“Jabba the Hutt,” he corrected her between his snorts of laughter. “And you’re adorable. Frankly, I find you unbelievably sexy right now. Can’t get enough of you; in fact…”he began to caress her back gently, drawing her closer.

She sighed and nuzzled his neck.  
Mmmmm…Daniel?” she said abruptly and sat up straight again. “What are we going to call these little guys? Sproglet A and B seem a little…well…odd even for you.”

“What names have you been thinking of?”

“Oh, I don’t know: Willow, Autumn, or Lilac for the girl; River. Rain or Storm for the boy”

“You’re kidding right? Why don’t we call one of them Bark and the other Hail? Or maybe Wind and Snow?”

“Those are horrible names, mine are at least nice sounding,” Vala pouted.

“Those kind of names belong on soap operas or porn films!”

“Oh, so I suppose you have better ideas? What are some of yours?”

“Normal names I assure you.”

“Like what?”

“David, Jack, Michael, Stephen,” he suggested.

“Jack Jackson? or Michael Jackson??? What great ideas! Are you mad?”

“I was just giving examples! Clearly Jack or Michael would be a bad choice.”

She wrenched out of his arms and moved to the couch, clearly angry. “Any brilliant names for girls spring to mind?” she asked peevishly.

“I always wanted to name a girl Hannah Claire,” he said simply. Hannah means ‘grace’ and Claire was my mother’s name.”

Vala who had braced herself for a fight was surprised. “I think that’s a beautiful name,” she whispered. “Hannah was my mother’s name.”

“Oh--didn’t know that.”

“I’ve never mentioned it. She died when I was little and then the wicked stepmother Adria showed up.”

“Come here,” Daniel reached out his arms.  
Vala curled up on his lap again with her head on his shoulder. They sat quietly wrapped in each other’s arms for quite a while. Daniel was the first to break the silence, “Well, I guess that settles the sproglet B issue. What about that boy? I love you honey but I cannot name my child after some force of nature or a tree.”

“What about Brick, or Daniel Junior?”

“Ah… no way in hell for the first and not keen on the whole ‘junior’ route.”

“What was your dad’s name? There’s no way I am naming my son Jacek by the way so don’t ask.”

“Melburn. I just couldn’t do that to a child no matter how much I’d like to honour my dad.”

“Yep. That one is gonna have to go. Sorry.”

“Thomas means ‘twin’,” Daniel suggested.

“It would be a nice second name.”

“Sure. We could go with something non-biblical if you like--maybe Arthur?”

“Or Thor?”

“Thor sounds like a caveman name to most people. What about Aaron?”

“Not a fan. Has a bad meaning in Goa’uld.”

“Oops, yeah forgot about that.”

“What do you think of Aidan?”

Daniel thought for a moment before saying, “I like it. It’s means ‘fire…”

Vala shuddered involuntarily, “That’s a definite no then. What about Drake?”

“Ah...no….”

“Scott?”

“I could live with Scott. Not a plant, animal or weather system. Means ‘from Scotland’…”

“We’re not Scottish.”

“So? Your point?” Daniel said sarcastically.

“Scott Thomas it is then,” she said cuddling even closer to him.

“That was remarkably easy, given the players…” Daniel teased.

“Are you implying that I’m difficult?” she asked sweetly.

“Yes. We both are.”

“Are you hard to get along with darling?” Her breath was hot in his ear. She kissed his neck suggestively and dragged her tongue over his pulse point before continuing, “I, myself, can be very easy. Take now for example, are you hard or easy?” She trailed her hand down his chest.  
“Both I imagine,” he said hoarsely before standing up with her still in his arms, and heading upstairs.

She laughed and tightened her hold around his neck, “Why Dr. Jackson, what are you doing?” He made no response but carried on towards the stairs. “If you think you can just carry me upstairs and have your way with me,” she said in mock-protest, “then you are absolutely right.”

They did not however, make it beyond the foot of the stairs before Daniel yelped in pain and they both toppled to the floor with a thud. Vala started giggling hysterically, “Guess I’ve gained more weight than I thought…”

“Are you all right? Shit, that was a really stupid move! The leg’s not ready for that kind of distance. Stupid, stupid…” he berated himself. “Are you sure you are all right? I could have hurt you, or the babies…” his face twisted a bit at the thought.

“In case you haven’t noticed Daniel, I am still in your arms. I barely noticed the collapse. You held on to me rather than bracing yourself.” She stood up, doing her best not to squish him any further. “Are you all right?” She extended her hand to pull him up.

“Bruised ego only,” he sighed while navigating to an upright position. “Perhaps I can redeem myself in the bedroom?” he smiled wickedly.

“If you think you are up to it,” she purred, reaching out her hand to stroke him.

“Race you!” he challenged, taking two stairs at a time.

“Again with the fast recovery time. No fair!”

When she entered the bedroom only moments later, there was no sign of Daniel but she could hear water running in the bathroom. “Daniel?”

“In here…”

“What are you doing? I thought we were going to have…”she walked into their large master bathroom to find him sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

“Thought my battered body would benefit from a nice warm bath.”

“With bubbles?” She arched one eyebrow; “I thought you were strictly a shower man”

“Well, remember that lovely bath you gave me at the hospital? Thought maybe we could…”

“Well, let me think,” she moved toward him slowly. “At the hospital, it was strictly a cleaning and comforting thing and I can see by the tightness of your pants that you have something entirely different in mind for this afternoon.”

Daniel stood, grabbed her by the buttocks and pulled her against him. “Uh-huh…interested?” She replied by unbuttoning his shirt and then coiling her arms around his neck. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he whispered and kissed her softly on her lips before trailing kisses down the white column of her neck. She began tugging at his belt urgently. Within moments she had him naked and the bathtub was full.

“Get in,” she instructed while running her hand up the firm length of his penis.

“Yes ma’am. You joining me anytime soon?”

“Patience….”

Once he was in and comfortable, she began a slow striptease, beginning with a lengthy unbuttoning of her shirt. Daniel’s eyes were riveted to her body and she took full advantage of that by running her hands up and down her torso slowly until he could see that her nipples had hardened under her bra. She reached behind her and unzipped her skirt letting in puddle around her feet before stepping out of it. Her red bikini underwear sat just below her round tummy and Daniel felt his penis twitch at the sight. Something about looking at her pregnant body aroused him on multiple levels. By the time she undid her lacy bra and began fondling her own breasts, he was aching with need.

“Vala…”

“Mmmm…” she groaned as she began to stroke herself through her lacy underwear. She was acutely aware that he was ravenously hard by this point but continued to ignore him and began to pull her panties down slowly.

“Vala…for god’s sake…” he sounded annoyed.

“Oh Daniel,” she smiled and noted his enormous erection poking out of the water, “it really turns me on knowing you are watching me you know.”

“Water’s gonna be cold before you get in here,” he continued to sound irritated but his eyes were riveted to her lithe form.

She stepped into the tub at last and settled herself between his legs, resting her back against his chest, and pushing her bottom against his erection. “Better darling?” she turned her head towards him. He wrapped his legs around her holding her in place.

“You’re incorrigible,” he growled and lifted her lips to his. They kissed slowly, tongues moving in slow motion, teasing each other. Vala felt the heat beginning at her toes and traveling languidly upwards. When Daniel pulled out of the kiss at last, she was quite literally pulsating with desire. Grabbing the pink poofy thing that Vala kept in the bathtub he began to slowly wash her, paying special attention to her breasts. The coarseness of the scrubber against her delicate nipples sent jolts of pleasure through her body and the pressure of his hardness against her backside, was building the momentum of her passion rapidly. When he reached into her silky folds and began circling the hard knot of her clitoris, she pushed hard against his hand, whimpering.

“I want…oh mmmm…that’s good…I w-w-want…ah.”

“What do you want Vala?” his voice was husky with desire, “this?” he began stroking her breasts with his other hand. She made a high-pitched moaning noise. “Or this?” he thrust his fingers into her. She groaned in abandon, struggling to maintain control.

“Want you,” she said emphatically and indecorously turned around to face him, managing to slosh water all over the floor in the process. She wrapped her legs around him and reached down to position his penis before sliding down on it. She clung to his neck as he began to thrust up into her. “Yep,” she sighed, “wanted that.”

“Happy to oblige,” he said politely as she began to ride his cock in earnest. “Aggressive little thing aren’t you?” he teased.

“Shut up Daniel!” she covered his mouth with her own, and sloppily explored it with her tongue. He placed his hands on her hips \and lifted her up and down on him. She felt her own orgasm building and wanted desperately to have him come with her however the force of his thrusting made it impossible to quell her impending release and she began to shake and spasm against him, arching her back away from him and throwing her head back as the wave of release hit her. The power of her climax shocked him as she screamed out in throaty howls of ecstasy. He looked at her face and the sight of her in such bliss, pushed him forward into a powerful orgasm of his own. He drove into her recklessly, as he emptied himself into her molten depths. He was vaguely aware that he was making a lot of noise and then everything went black.

She held him against her as he regained his wits. “Ssshh…” she said lovingly and stroked his head, as it lay against her bosom. “You okay?” she was trying to rouse him gently, “Danny?”

He regained his bearings and smiled up at her lazily, “Uh-huh. I’m fine.”

“I thought you’d passed out or something. You can’t do that to me!” she sounded upset.

“Mmmm?” he gazed dreamily at her. “Sorry honey, don’t blame me! You’re the one who does this to me.” Sex always made him feel boneless and groggy.

“Snap out of it Daniel! Let’s get out and get dried off. I’m starving.” She rose on wobbly legs and steadied herself against the tiled wall.

Noting that she looked dizzy he quickly scrambled to his feet and held her against him “You okay?”

“Yes, just stood up too quickly. I’m fine. I do think I might lie down for a few minutes if you can help me to the bed. These dizzy spells are getting a lot more frequent.”

“Vala, when was the last time you ate?” Daniel demanded more in concern than anger as he wrapped her in a large fuzzy towel and started drying her.

“What time is it?”

“3:00”

“We forgot to eat lunch. I’ll get us something.”

“You certainly shall not! You have got to start taking it easier and anyway, I’m hale and hearty enough to fend for us both.” He walked her to the bed and laid her down on it gently, pulling the comforter over her.

She sighed contentedly, “Okay. I want lots of cheese and cucumbers.”

Surprise and amusement flooded Daniel’s face as he finished drying off and pulled on a pair of track pants, “Cucumbers? Do we even have cucumbers?”

“Many…Cut up an entire one, in slices, not spears, and bring the malt vinegar and salt…”

“Okaaay….anything else?”

“Just cheese…oh and slice up that red onion and put it in with the cucumber”

“Right….”he turned to go and was halfway out of the room before she called after him.

“Daniel? Chocolate milk too.”

His stomach did a queasy flip-flop. Clearly both the babies were making contrary craving demands.  
**************************************  
Chapter 12

Maybe no one told you there is strength in your tears  
And so you fight to keep from pouring out  
But what if you unlock the gate that keeps your secret soul  
Do you think that there's enough you might drown?

If no one will listen, if you decide to speak  
If no one's left standing after the bombs explode  
If no one wants to look at you, for what you really are  
I will be here still

June 29, 2008

The day had been quiet; Daniel was working out with Teal’c in the basement and Vala was sitting cross-legged in the big leather chair, so rarely vacated by Daniel on a Sunday afternoon. She was pouring over When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, Or Quads and beginning to feel a mix of curiosity and panic as she looked at diagrams and read all the things she would be facing.

Still, it was a practical book and she was finding it helpful if a little terrifying. She laughed at herself because the harrowing events of her past and the dangers they had faced as a couple seemed less frightening than the prospect of her stomach ever stretching as big as those women in the book; a chill ran down her spine at the contemplated how many potential risks there were.

She hadn’t even allowed herself to worry about raising the babies yet or even how she would feed them. At the moment, her primary goal was to have all three of them survive the pregnancy and birth. She wanted to make it past the 36 week point at least, having read too many horror stories online about women having their twins as early as 22 weeks. The more she read the more she understood the need for getting most things the babies would need while she was still up to it. They could start right after they got back from the honeymoon while Daniel was still at home. He’d planned on heading back to the mountain full time at the beginning of August, while she continued to work from home as off-world travel was pretty much at an end after the honeymoon. And surprisingly, she didn’t miss it anyway. After years of traipsing around the universe, she enjoyed the security of staying put, at least at the moment.

As she read further in the book, Vala allowed her mind to imagine various ways of decorating the nursery, making a mental list of all the tings they need to buy: two cribs, a rocking chair, two mobiles… “This is going to be expensive,” she sighed aloud.

“Well, you know what Jack says Vala,” Daniel’s voice startled her and she jumped. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m fine now; tell me what does Jack say about having children Daniel?”

 

“If you wait till you can afford them, you’ll never have any.” Vala laughed. “Anyway, I’ve got quite a stash left from my single days, even after I bought the house….all those years of wearing the same thing and eating at the mountain…not to mention all the artefacts I’ve picked up along the way. Museums fight over the kind of stuff I have. So, we’re fine.” He flopped down on the couch. “Teal’c is determined to get me fit enough for off world travel. I hurt everywhere.”

“Poor baby,” she teased, “Want a snack?”

“I’ll get something, don’t get up.”

“Actually, I was planning on making myself something healthy; this book has some great advice on what to eat…thought I’d start now.”

“No cucumbers or anchovies for me thanks…”

“Funny….”

As she busied herself in the kitchen, she heard the phone ringing in the other room. “I’ve got it,” Daniel called to her. Vala quickly put together the tray of fruit she had imagined, adding a few cookies for Daniel and headed back into the living room. She found him sitting on the edge of the couch with his head in his hands. He looked up at her weakly, face drained of colour and welled up eyes. “That was Jack,” he said remotely and wrapped his arms around himself.

“What’s wrong? Oh God, something happened to Sam!”

“No, no, she’s fine. It’s General Hammond. He died this morning.” Vala looked at his stricken expression and her heart broke for him. At a loss for what to say, she simply put down the tray and sat beside him putting her hand on his cheek and turning his face towards her. “He was only 65,” he said without emotion. “I have to get changed. We’re meeting at Jack’s. First, I’ll go downstairs and tell Teal’c.”

“Daniel?” she called after him as he headed down the stairs. “Daniel….”

“Not now Vala.” He cast her a warning look that she hadn’t seen in a long time. She sat in stunned silence, her cheeks flaring from his rejection. Deciding to give him the space he so clearly wanted, she set about pulling a few things together instead. If they were all meeting at Jack’s she could at least cook for them. She filled two bags from the fridge and cupboards and threw in a bottle of wine they had left from the wedding. Placing the bags by the front door, she headed up the stairs to change into something more presentable than the sweatpants and old t-shirt she’d stolen from Daniel’s dresser.

As she was brushing her hair and pulling it back into a clip, she caught sight of Daniel’s reflection behind her. He was predictable if nothing else: refusing to meet her eyes or stay still long enough to let her touch him, he stomped around the bedroom, muttering to himself about needing to find some matching socks. “Top left drawer,” she said softly.

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“About what Vala? That I can’t remember where you put my goddamned socks?”

“No. I’m sorry about your friend,” she said in a quiet low tone.

“Yeah, well…. shit happens.”

“You loved him.”

“Sure whatever…can we just get going to Jack’s? You’ll have to drive of course but you can just drop us off and we’ll crash at Jack’s”

“Oh. Thought I was invited too. Stupid of me…I packed some food and stuff…thought I could make some dinner or something…not to worry though darling…I’ll just go and put it away before we leave…” She rushed out of the room, strangling a sob, and hurried down the stairs.

She quickly unpacked the bags, tossing things back in place, muttering angrily under her breath, “Sure you just go right ahead and shut me out…you certainly know how to do that… ‘I promise to keep myself open….share my feelings…’ right…what a load of crap…married him and he still treats me like an outsider… ‘Not now Vala…shit happens Vala’… he’ll crash at Jack’s’….” She slammed the cupboard door. marched out to the patio, and flung herself into a chair trying to steady her breathing. He mustn’t see her like this. Preoccupied, she didn’t hear the door open behind her.

“He doesn’t mean to hurt you ValaJackson,” Teal’c’s voice resonated in the still of the late afternoon. “He’s…”

“Overwhelmed,” Vala said, finishing his sentence. “Yeah, got that. And so, he does what he always has--shut down. I get it Teal’c!” She sighed deeply, “Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.”

“GeneralHammond was like a father to him, the only one he’d really known since he was eight. You must give him time.” Teal’c placed a hand on her shoulder. “Be there, even when he doesn’t think he wants you to be. Come with us to O’Neil’s. I need you to be there and so does DanielJackson, even if he has told you otherwise.”

She nodded silently. “How’d you get so wise Teal’c?”

“I have been his friend for over 60 years if you recall.”

 

Vala locked the car and walked to the door behind Daniel. He hadn’t said a word the entire drive but had grabbed both the re-packed grocery bags before following Teal’c to the house. He hadn’t looked at Vala since the bedroom discussion. She had rested her hand on his leg on several occasions during the drive and the first time he had tensed up immediately, almost wrenching his leg away; but eventually on her third attempt, he had covered her hand with his own and given it a quick squeeze before gently removing it and putting it back on the steering wheel. “Well, it’s a beginning I guess,” she had thought and noticed, in her rear-view mirror, the encouragement in Teal’c’s eyes.

Jack had greeted her warmly too, which made it clear that she was not an outsider. “Hey little mommy, how many babies are you cooking in there anyway? That’s an impressively baby bump you’re sprouting.”

“Two,” was Daniel’s terse reply.

“Well that’s pretty damn cool if you ask me!” He hugged Vala and whispered in her ear, “Shutting you out right now? Don’t worry.” Vala hugged him tighter.

“So having a litter then are we Danny? That’s just great news! Sam is going to be tickled. Mind if I tell her?” Daniel made a sweeping gesture with his hands that seemed to indicate consent and then walked over to the couch and sat down.

“Can I get you a beer Daniel?”

“Got anything to drink besides beer Jack?” he asked edgily.

“As a matter of fact, I do. Half a bottle of that single-malt scotch from the last time you were here. And for your beautiful wife, I picked up some chocolate milk…that is your poison these days isn’t it Vala?”

“Thanks Jack. That’s sweet of you. Actually, I thought I would whip up some supper for everyone. Just some spaghetti but it’ll be good I promise.”

“It always is,” Daniel said quietly and met her eyes.

She mouthed, “I love you,” and disappeared into Jack’s kitchen. While she made dinner, she could hear the three men reminiscing about General Hammond, laughter periodically erupting. When the sauce was ready, she left it to simmer for a while and returned, chocolate milk in hand, to the living room. Daniel held out a hand for her and she sat next to him on the couch. He was still nursing his first drink and she was thankful for it. She was even more grateful when he reached over and took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Samantha will be sorry to have not been here,” she said softly.

“Indeed,” Teal’c was solemn now. “General Hammond was a formidable warrior and an outstanding commanding officer.”

“How are his daughter and grand-daughters doing?”

“They’re okay Vala. I spoke with them this morning. They’re planning the memorial service for the 1st. God, he loved those girls. The youngest granddaughter just graduated from high school last week. Top of her class. He was so proud,” Jack’s voice cracked a bit. “He’d have been so excited about the twins Daniel.”

Daniel cleared his throat loudly, “Well, we were planning on calling him today…so..” he coughed. “Think I’ll go check on dinner. Vala?”

“Right,” she said, startled, “I’ll put the pasta on.” She followed him to the kitchen. When she walked in, he was holding onto the counter with both hands, his head bent. She put a hand on his shoulder, “Daniel?”

He cleared his throat and sniffed before turning to face her. “Hey…” he said thickly.

She gazed at him, her eyes full of love, “Can you fill the pot with water? It needs to boil before I can drop the pasta.”

“Sure thing,” he sputtered, clearing his throat again. “Anything else?”

“You can slice the bread and I’ll make a lot of noise that makes it sound like we’re in here working our asses off. Take your time.” She squeezed his hand and turned to put the pot on the burner. And then she felt his arms around her from behind, hands gently holding her tummy and resting his head on her shoulder. She pivoted around to face him, taking his head in both her hands and looking into his eyes, “I’m sorry about your friend Daniel. I know what he meant to you.”

His breath hitched, “Me too. He was a great man. He was like…” he broke off.

“The memorial service is on the first of July?”

“Uh-huh. We can delay our trip until the next day I guess.”

“Absolutely darling, if you are sure you still want to go that is.”

“Need to sit on a beach with you and just…”

“Which beach?”

“Remember the place I was originally going to propose? There.”

“Sounds lovely. What’s say we get this dinner finished up. T. is likely starving and I’m….”

“Eating for three?”  
The next day, however, Daniel was back in shutdown mode. He barricaded himself in his study, pouring over his books, all of which he had previously devoured, or proven wrong. Nevertheless, it passed the time and focussed his brain on something other than Hammond’s death. His latest fascination was The Structure of Time. It was a theoretical book that relied on highly abstract concepts and it was the kind of thing that transported Daniel into his own paradise: a purely intellectual nirvana.  
That morning, Vala had set off to the mall to try to find a decent dress for the funeral and anything else she might need for their honeymoon. She had of course, shunned the maternity stores in favour of her regular haunts and had spent a frustrating hour before grudgingly admitting to herself that she was “ready for potato sacks” and heading for Motherhood Maternity. She was pleasantly surprised that they had a lot of really nice dresses and pretty much everything else she needed. Credit card in hand, she set about finding some clothes that fit and were comfortable and that would see her through the summer months. Although she had winced when the salesgirl said it, she knew that with twins it would be safer not to buy too much now because she was likely to need a much larger size later on. After an hour, she’d had her fill of shopping and added her packages to the one full of the baby clothes she had picked up at Macy’s.  
When she arrived back home, Daniel had not moved from where he’d been since 7:00 that morning. “I’m surprised there isn’t dust on him,” Vala muttered as she walked past the room unnoticed. She knew enough about him by now not to interrupt, especially when he was so clearly avoiding something more important by reading. She laughed ruefully at the notion of what life would have been like if he hadn’t regained his sight. It was highly unlikely that many books in his field were available on CD and she knew he would have slipped into a deep depression, which in fact was the only outcome imaginable. When she thought of the number of injuries, near deaths and well, deaths, that the man had suffered over the years, it was a wonder he could even walk let alone maintain the physical regimen he had. What little muscle he had lost after the accident was already back under the wise tutelage of Teal’c and with the exception of a slightly weakened leg, he was pretty much back to normal, well as normal as he ever was at least. As she made lunch she found herself remembering the way her body had looked in a full-length three-way mirror. Even though she had been pregnant before, her body had never, what was the word the salesgirl had used? ‘blossomed’ quite so fully. She knew it was all babies, but she had suddenly felt fat at the mall and then had felt guilty for being upset. “I’ve spent the better part of my adult life as a host of some sort or another I guess,” she laughed to herself. She picked up the tray with their lunch on it and ventured into what she called ‘the crypt’ to see if she could tempt him with food.  
She knocked on the open door so that she wouldn’t startle him. “Daniel, take a break for lunch?” No reply. “DANIEL?”  
Jumping nearly out of his skin, he complained loudly about, “Certain people sneaking up on me all the time!” and looked at her over his glasses, protest clear in his eyes. “What Vala?” he snapped.  
“I’m home now so I thought you might like some lunch.”  
“Oh,” he said without looking up, “Didn’t know you’d left.”  
Vala threw her hands up in frustration, “You know what? Never mind, I didn’t mean to interrupt your blessed alone time.” She turned on her heel and marched out with more than just a little hauteur. “I see you are back to your old self.”  
He found her on the patio, angrily eating a banana and muttering words like ‘condescending intellectual’ and mimicking the way he said, ‘Whaaa tuh Vala?’.  
“Mind if I join you?” he asked clearly oblivious to her mood. ‘I’ve just been engrossed in that book. Fascinating really. It argues that our experience of time may ultimately derive from perceptual processes and that temporal experience is a prerequisite for abilities such as event perception and comparison, rather than an abstraction...”  
“I guess I should be flattered,” she said icily.  
“Huh?”  
“Well you deigned to eat your lunch with me and you actually think that I would understand what the hell you are talking about or even care for that matter. Really Daniel, there’s no one I know who cares about theories of cognitive linguistics except YOU!” She rose and stomped back into the house, closing the patio door so forcefully it bounced back open.  
“You knew enough to know I was talking about cognitive linguistics!” he hollered after her. He looked at the plate she had made for him: all his favourites—ham sandwich, sliced apples, a banana and even chocolate cookies and began to eat absent-mindedly while continuing to read. It was better not to venture near her when she was like this, he reasoned and allowed himself to escape back into the world of semantics.  
An hour later, he had finished the book (again) and decided to see if she had cooled down. She had not--as he discovered when he found her upstairs in the bedroom. She had laid out a large assortment of baby clothes on the bed and was idly folding and re-folding them. His attempt at breezy chitchat had met with stony silence and so he began a perusal of her purchases.  
“These little things over here are nice,” he began tentatively.  
“Sleepers! They are called sleepers. The book says I need a minimum of seven in each size; there are only two of each there. Figured I’d get some more when Sam gets back so she can give me a hand.”  
“Um…I see you have a few of these things with snaps too…”  
“Undershirts!”  
“Yep…guess so. And this is pretty,” he had picked up a tiny knitted dress with strawberries embroidered on it.  
“It has a matching sweater and hat,” she scolded.  
This was going to be a lot tougher than usual, he thought and tried to focus. “What are these for?”  
“Oh for pity’s sake Daniel, they are wash cloths!” She threw a pacifier at him hitting him squarely in the face. “There was a sale!”  
He wisely chose to ignore the projectile and struggled on, “I like these little overalls; I imagine the snaps make it easier to change diapers?”  
“You know what? Never mind!” she began gathering up the clothes and carried them into the room that was going to be the nursery. Currently it was set up as a guest room and she put the clothing into the empty drawers on the bureau and threw herself onto the bed. She lay there panting in anger, trying to collect herself. He was just trying to be nice, to make up for earlier. It wasn’t as if he intended to ignore her; it was just the way he was, had always been, especially when he was trying to avoid dealing with his feelings. She was being selfish, she was sure of that. But to not have even noticed when she left the house? And she had spoken to him, or at least she remembered telling him-- clearly he hadn’t heard. “I guess he learned how to tune me out years ago…. like some sort of harpy,” she thought sadly. She had believed they were past all of that now and it wasn’t like she was constantly pestering him, she hadn’t in almost two years. She covered her eyes with her right arm and sighed deeply.  
“So, did you find anything to wear tomorrow?” he asked as he entered the room. The decision was now hers: would she continue to snap at him or would she let him off the hook?

“Yes, and quite a few other things too. Seems I’m into maternity clothing already though.”

“Wow.”

“C’mon I’ll show you,” she smiled at him as she rose to her feet shakily. “Oh shit, I’m dizzy again; I hate this!”

“Is it normal?” Daniel’s concern was tinged with panic as he rushed to steady her.

“Oh yes,” she reassured him, “entirely normal. I needed to sit up first and then wait before I stood up. I’m just not used to it. I’ve always been able to jump about. Won’t be a problem for long though because I’ll need a hoist just to get upright soon. I’m feeling rather like a beached whale already.”

“I don’t think so,” he wrapped his arms around her. “See, you still fit.” She sighed contentedly against his chest. He kissed the top of her head before tilting her face upwards, “I’m sorry for whatever I did.”

She laughed and shook her head; some things weren’t likely to change. “You are an incredibly annoying person you know?” she swatted him playfully on his chest. “Adorable, but really irritating.”

“Uh-huh. Birds of a feather…” She stopped his answer with a passionate kiss that he broke away from suddenly. “I really want to see the clothes. Why don’t you try them on for me?” He was wound too tightly to do anything else.

Vala astutely surmised that his rejection had nothing to do with her but sprang from his desire to shut out his emotions and the vulnerability he so often revealed when they made love. It would of course do him a world of good to let some of it out. Nevertheless, she led him into their room to begin the fashion show.

Daniel was feeling really shaky himself, like he was hanging on for dear life and the slightest stumble would hurl him into the abyss. He was self-aware enough to know exactly what he was doing but it was a matter of self-preservation and it had kept him sane in the face of a lifetime of loss. He’d been surprised at how emotional he was when he was blind but he suspected that was because he couldn’t bury himself in work the way he had always done. Now, it was time to suck it up and be strong.

“Surely you don’t want to see everything I bought?” Vala asked incredulously. “There is a lot of stuff.”

“Nope. Want to see it all. Bring it on.”

“God he’s transparent,” she thought. Filling time with watching her model was almost the same as burying himself in the office. This was a slight distraction and one that at least on the surface seemed to satisfy the required ‘togetherness’ quotient for the day. “Not to worry though,” she thought a tad wickedly, “I’m a master manipulator!” She arranged the clothing into outfits, accelerating the sexiness factor with each successive outfit, ending of course with the little number she had ordered from Victoria’s Secret that had conveniently arrived that morning. And so the fashion show began with Vala feeling quite ridiculous for most of it and Daniel approving wholeheartedly of everything, though clearly he was detached and pre-occupied. Vala made a silent vow never to repeat this stupidity again ever. She laughed at herself though when she recalled that there was a time when she would have loved parading around for him. Well, she was going to enjoy the lingerie portion of the presentation.

“Almost finished darling?” Daniel asked with no hint of boredom. She laughed and began to strip off the pair of pants and shirt she was wearing. Daniel raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Just wanted you to see the new undies and bra dear. Imagine my surprise at finding such sexy stuff in a maternity store? I won’t show you all of them but these bras have a feature that might prove interesting for something other than breast-feeding…” she tugged on the snaps and let the cups fall away revealing her darkened nipples.

“Well, those look promising,” he said wryly. “You are planning on breast-feeding then?”

That was a sure-fire way to dampen any sexual tension she was feeling, “Yes, of course! Is there some sort of cultural taboo against it on this planet? Because if there is…I don’t care…”

“Whoa, calm down. It’s not a taboo--in fact, it’s the norm. It’s just not that easy to breast-feed twins or at least that’s what I heard. And it would be really exhausting for you.”

“There are lots of ways we can manage things so let’s not worry about it now.”

“It makes me happy that you want to do it, you know. It’s a big commitment.”

“Oh, and the pregnancy isn’t?” she laughed and headed back into the closet. “Two more items and then we’re done this nonsense.” She emerged moments later in a pregnancy swimsuit.

“Well, that certainly gives you ah…coverage I guess.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed darling; I still have a bikini for the honeymoon but this one is better for ‘public’ places and it I think it’s cute.”

“It’s cute honey…but I don’t understand why you’d want to cover that beautiful tummy..”

“Wait till it’s covered in a road map of stretch marks and you’ll sing a different tune..”

“Never! I will always think you are beautiful…” She knew he was sincere which made him even more desirable. With a devious smirk, she headed back to the closet.

“There’s more?” Daniel was doing his very best not to sound bored.

“This was your idea Daniel,” she called back to him. “I wanted to make love…” She walked out of the closet wearing a white baby doll negligee, see-through except for the opaque lace top and matching thong. She definitely had Daniel’s attention and he gulped nervously.

“That’s uh…really…um…pretty,” he stammered trying to sound blasé and failing miserably.

“Oh, do you like it?” she said trying to sound innocent and failing equally as miserably. She walked deliberately to the bed before crawling toward him like a panther. He retreated up the bed and she simply crawled up his body until they were nose to nose. “I don’t bite Daniel” she purred, “well, not much…” He scowled at her so she traced her tongue over his lips. When he didn’t react, she sat back on her haunches, positioning herself squarely on his penis, which, it seemed, had a mind of its own and was not quite as indifferent as its keeper.

“Vala,” he practically whined, “give me a break please.”

“Ah, you see Daniel, a ‘break’ is exactly what you need and you,” she squirmed on his erection, “damn well know it.”

He groaned, half in arousal and half in exasperation. “I am not ruled by my erections Vala, or else I would have given in to you the first day we met. I am in charge up here,” he pointed at his head emphatically. “And I, me,” he waved both hand over his head, “Daniel Jackson, do not want to have sex with you this afternoon.”

“Cognitive linguistics: you think, you talk, and you cut all the emotional and physical responses out of the mix. That’s what you are!” She smiled in triumph, “You are a cognitive linguist.” She ground into him for emphasis, before getting off the bed and walking toward the closet again. She cast him a backwards glance, “But you are a horny cognitive linguist who just talked himself out of getting laid. So you certainly aren’t very cunning!” It was a bad joke but she couldn’t resist.

“Oh, good one Vala, like I’ve never heard that one before!” he shouted after her.

“Time for plan B,” she thought, determined that he would let her make love to him. She walked brazenly out stark naked and carrying a container of honey butter. Daniel had settled back onto the pillow and was reading Harry Potter not having reflected on the fact that he could have left the bedroom had he chosen. She lay down, head at the end of the bed, grabbed a pillow and get comfy without his acknowledgement. She calmly perused the label on the product and then began to apply a liberal amount to her abdomen and began to rub it in using slow circles. In her mind she began a slow countdown, “He will smell the lavender and look up in three, two, one…and the winner is? Vala!”

“Vala, what are you doing?” he eyes were locked on her fingers and their movements.

“Huh? Oh Daniel, didn’t mean to disturb. Just moisturizing my tummy; apparently it’s very important that I do this twice each day—according to the book I’m reading.” She spread her legs ever so slightly and scooped another dollop of honey butter. “I’ll be out of your hair in a moment…”

“Smells nice, lavender isn’t it?”

“I guess so, I haven’t really bothered to read the ingredient list.” He picked up the jar and began to read. “Daniel, can you just make sure I’m covering the whole area?”

“Okay…” He scooped up some of the cream that was already on her, “I think you should make sure to get the entire area on the sides and underneath, you can’t possibly see that part so I’ll just…” She shifted her bottom down the bed toward him and spread her legs further.

“Oh thanks honey,” she said cheerfully. “Just make sure to rub it in thoroughly; it mentions that on the instructions.” And so he began. “This is just too easy,” she laughed internally and then began to make low sounds of appreciation. “Mmmmm…that’s nice….oooh that’s a little tender there, must be a stretching ligament…could you rub it a little….mmmmm…exactly…ooh that’s lovely, thank-you….” The application began to become more sensual than utilitarian, as the feel of her skin, the smell of the lotion, her moans and the increasing subtle musk of her arousal were intoxicating. These things only added to his already inflamed libido as he stroked her. Suddenly she sat up, “Thanks Daniel, that’s probably enough for now.” She kissed him on the cheek and made a move to get out of bed. In her mind she was counting again, “He will grab me in three, two, one..” and he did.

“Vala, don’t go,” his eyes were blue fire, “want you…” She reached up to touch his cheek and he pulled her on top of him before gently turning her on to her back and practically swallowing her whole.

Their lovemaking was as frantic as it was passionate and she resolved to simply hold on and let him ravage her. Not that it wasn’t enjoyable, it was; but she made no demands nor did she speak to him. It wasn’t about the sex anyway and that had in fact been the whole point of her long seduction. She knew it would help him open himself to his grief, to let go of his iron grip on his emotion. And when it was over and they lay together chests heaving, she knew without looking at him that tears were freely running down the sides of his face onto the pillow.

She lay there completely still, head on his chest, holding him tightly. After a while, she shifted off slightly, propped herself up on one elbow, and gazed silently into his clouded eyes, smoothing the hair on his forehead and stroking the side of his face. She saw the man she loved, open and vulnerable, and for a moment she lost herself in the sweeping rush of her own emotions: the word ‘love’ was not enough and though she wanted to speak words of love and comfort, she could do nothing but gaze into his eyes, hoping that he would see the depth of her love for him. He gently reached for her and pulled her into a soft kiss. He had never kissed her like this before; it was so loving and tender, and it took her breath away with both its intensity and it simplicity. They rolled onto their sides and shared the pillow, staring into each other’s eyes. He stroked her face with the back of his hand and she lightly kissed his knuckles and sighed, “Daniel…I…”

He raised a finger to her lips, “Vala, I need to say a few things to you and I just need you to listen okay?” She nodded mutely. He kissed her sweetly and rolling onto his back again, he continued. “I’ve been alone for most of my life and there has been a lot of loss. When I lost my parents, the only family I had was Nick and he left it up to a series of foster parents to raise me. Some of them were very kind—some were pretty horrible, none of them loved me. In school I was the geeky loser, and everyone’s favourite punching bag. When I was 18, I was cut loose from the system, and I was on my own.”

“Oh Daniel…”

“No, please I am not telling you this because I want pity and I certainly don’t feel sorry for myself so just let me finish okay?”

“Okay…”

“And as arrogant as it sounds, despite all the crap in my life, I knew I was smart, smarter than most people, and having been so well loved by my parents, I didn’t allow others to really hurt me. I turned to purely intellectual pursuits in part because I had an insatiable need to learn but also because somehow it made me feel closer to my parents, and I guess keeping my mind perpetually in motion kept me from really facing the trauma of watching them die. In a way, books became my sole companions.”

“And thus you had three PhDs by the time you were 22…”

“Well, there wasn’t much else to occupy me since I had no real friendships or family. Books anchored me, transporting me to places better than where I was…they never hit me or rejected me or abandoned me. They’re permanent. And when I needed to escape or to be comforted, I always turned to books. And I’ve had many reasons to turn to them time and time again in my life, and so when the General died…it’s kind of something I did by rote, you know?”

“You’ve thought about this a lot…”

“Well, yeah…I kind of have because when I lost my sight, I was so lost and so emotionally fragile and I just couldn’t seem to get a grip on the grief…if you recall, I cried like an infant for weeks.”

“You are always so hard on yourself Daniel…relentless actually….”

“But it was because the only thing that grounded me, that kept me from drowning, is my books and by extension my work. When I couldn’t do either I was set adrift…”

“And when your sight returned, the first thing you did was reach for a book…”

“Yes. A story about a little boy whose parents are killed, who is being raised without love…”

“Who has special abilities that help to save the world…7 times I believe?” she laughed a little

“Who feels alone until he creates his own family…”

She began to laugh in earnest. “My god Daniel, you are a…”

“Literary archetype. I know; it’s pathetic actually,” he laughed with her. “Anyway, the problem I now have is that you won’t let me shut myself up with my books and run away from pain…”

“No, I guess I won’t. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You aren’t, we aren’t.”

“Still love my books…but…”

“You love me more?”

He laughed, “Something like that although it’s a little more complicated.”

“Always is with you Daniel.”

“Look who’s talking!” he teased.

“Daniel,” her tone was serious now, “are you feeling any better?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” he admitted. “Not quite so wound up, just sad, really sad.” He sighed deeply and pulled her into his arms again.

“Daniel?”

“Mmmm?”

“How would you feel if we changed Scott’s second name to George?”

“I’d like that.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with the canonical death of General Hammond, among other things.

Maybe no one told you there is strength in your tears  
And so you fight to keep from pouring out  
But what if you unlock the gate that keeps your secret soul  
Do you think that there's enough you might drown?

If no one will listen, if you decide to speak  
If no one's left standing after the bombs explode  
If no one wants to look at you, for what you really are  
I will be here still

June 29, 2008

The day had been quiet; Daniel was working out with Teal’c in the basement and Vala was sitting cross-legged in the big leather chair, so rarely vacated by Daniel on a Sunday afternoon. She was pouring over When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, Or Quads and beginning to feel a mix of curiosity and panic as she looked at diagrams and read all the things she would be facing. Still, it was a practical book and she was finding it helpful if a little terrifying. She laughed at herself because the harrowing events of her past and the dangers they had faced as a couple seemed less frightening than the prospect of her stomach ever stretching as big as those women in the book; a chill ran down her spine at the contemplated how many potential risks there were. She hadn’t even allowed herself to worry about raising the babies yet or even how she would feed them. At the moment, her primary goal was to have all three of them survive the pregnancy and birth. She wanted to make it past the 36 week point at least, having read too many horror stories online about women having their twins as early as 22 weeks. The more she read the more she understood the need for getting most things the babies would need while she was still up to it.   
They could start right after they got back from the honeymoon while Daniel was still at home. He’d planned on heading back to the mountain full time at the beginning of August, while she continued to work from home as off-world travel was pretty much at an end after the honeymoon. And surprisingly, she didn’t miss it anyway. After years of traipsing around the universe, she enjoyed the security of staying put, at least at the moment.

As she read further in the book, Vala allowed her mind to imagine various ways of decorating the nursery, making a mental list of all the tings they needed to buy: two cribs, a rocking chair, two mobiles… “This is going to be expensive,” she sighed aloud.

“Well, you know what Jack says Vala,” Daniel’s voice startled her and she jumped. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m fine now; tell me what does Jack say about having children Daniel?”

“If you wait till you can afford them, you’ll never have any.” Vala laughed. “Anyway, I’ve got quite a stash left from my single days, even after I bought the house….all those years of wearing the same thing and eating at the mountain…not to mention all the artefacts I’ve picked up along the way. Museums fight over the kind of stuff I have. So, we’re fine.” He flopped down on the couch. “Teal’c is determined to get me fit enough for off world travel. I hurt everywhere.”

“Poor baby,” she teased, “Want a snack?”

“I’ll get something, don’t get up.”

“Actually, I was planning on making myself something healthy; this book has some great advice on what to eat…thought I’d start now.”

“No cucumbers or anchovies for me thanks…”

“Funny….”

As she busied herself in the kitchen, she heard the phone ringing in the other room. “I’ve got it,” Daniel called to her. Vala quickly put together the tray of fruit she had imagined, adding a few cookies for Daniel and headed back into the living room. She found him sitting on the edge of the couch with his head in his hands. He looked up at her weakly, face drained of colour and welled up eyes. “That was Jack,” he said remotely and wrapped his arms around himself.

“What’s wrong? Oh God, something happened to Sam!”

“No, no, she’s fine. It’s General Hammond. He died this morning.” Vala looked at his stricken expression and her heart broke for him. At a loss for what to say, she simply put down the tray and sat beside him putting her hand on his cheek and turning his face towards her. “He was only 65,” he said without emotion. “I have to get changed. We’re meeting at Jack’s. First, I’ll go downstairs and tell Teal’c.”

“Daniel?” she called after him as he headed down the stairs. “Daniel….”

“Not now Vala.” He cast her a warning look that she hadn’t seen in a long time. She sat in stunned silence, her cheeks flaring from his rejection. Deciding to give him the space he so clearly wanted, she set about pulling a few things together instead. If they were all meeting at Jack’s she could at least cook for them. She filled two bags from the fridge and cupboards and threw in a bottle of wine they had left from the wedding. Placing the bags by the front door, she headed up the stairs to change into something more presentable than the sweatpants and old t-shirt she’d stolen from Daniel’s dresser.

As she was brushing her hair and pulling it back into a clip, she caught sight of Daniel’s reflection behind her. He was predictable if nothing else: refusing to meet her eyes or stay still long enough to let her touch him, he stomped around the bedroom, muttering to himself about needing to find some matching socks. “Top left drawer,” she said softly.

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“About what Vala? That I can’t remember where you put my goddamned socks?”

“No. I’m sorry about your friend,” she said in a quiet low tone.

“Yeah, well…. shit happens.”

“You loved him.”

“Sure whatever…can we just get going to Jack’s? You’ll have to drive of course but you can just drop us off and we’ll crash at Jack’s”

“Oh. Thought I was invited too. Stupid of me…I packed some food and stuff…thought I could make some dinner or something…not to worry though darling…I’ll just go and put it away before we leave…” She rushed out of the room, strangling a sob, and hurried down the stairs.

She quickly unpacked the bags, tossing things back in place, muttering angrily under her breath, “Sure you just go right ahead and shut me out…you certainly know how to do that… ‘I promise to keep myself open….share my feelings…’ right…what a load of crap…married him and he still treats me like an outsider… ‘Not now Vala…shit happens Vala’… he’ll crash at Jack’s’….” She slammed the cupboard door. marched out to the patio, and flung herself into a chair trying to steady her breathing. He mustn’t see her like this. Preoccupied, she didn’t hear the door open behind her.

“He doesn’t mean to hurt you ValaJackson,” Teal’c’s voice resonated in the still of the late afternoon. “He’s…”

“Overwhelmed,” Vala said, finishing his sentence. “Yeah, got that. And so, he does what he always has--shut down. I get it Teal’c!” She sighed deeply, “Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.”

“GeneralHammond was like a father to him, the only one he’d really known since he was eight. You must give him time.” Teal’c placed a hand on her shoulder. “Be there, even when he doesn’t think he wants you to be. Come with us to O’Neil’s. I need you to be there and so does DanielJackson, even if he has told you otherwise.”

She nodded silently. “How’d you get so wise Teal’c?”

“I have been his friend for over 60 years if you recall.”

 

Vala locked the car and walked to the door behind Daniel. He hadn’t said a word the entire drive but had grabbed both the re-packed grocery bags before following Teal’c to the house. He hadn’t looked at Vala since the bedroom discussion. She had rested her hand on his leg on several occasions during the drive and the first time he had tensed up immediately, almost wrenching his leg away; but eventually on her third attempt, he had covered her hand with his own and given it a quick squeeze before gently removing it and putting it back on the steering wheel. “Well, it’s a beginning I guess,” she had thought and noticed, in her rear-view mirror, the encouragement in Teal’c’s eyes.

Jack had greeted her warmly too, which made it clear that she was not an outsider. “Hey little mommy, how many babies are you cooking in there anyway? That’s an impressive baby bump you’re sprouting.”

“Two,” was Daniel’s terse reply.

“Well that’s pretty damn cool if you ask me!” He hugged Vala and whispered in her ear, “Shutting you out right now? Don’t worry.” Vala hugged him tighter.

“So having a litter then are we Danny? That’s just great news! Sam is going to be tickled. Mind if I tell her?” Daniel made a sweeping gesture with his hands that seemed to indicate consent and then walked over to the couch and sat down.

“Can I get you a beer Daniel?”

“Got anything to drink besides beer Jack?” he asked edgily.

“As a matter of fact, I do. Half a bottle of that single-malt scotch from the last time you were here. And for your beautiful wife, I picked up some chocolate milk…that is your poison these days isn’t it Vala?”

“Thanks Jack. That’s sweet of you. Actually, I thought I would whip up some supper for everyone. Just some spaghetti but it’ll be good I promise.”

“It always is,” Daniel said quietly and met her eyes.

She mouthed, “I love you,” and disappeared into Jack’s kitchen. While she made dinner, she could hear the three men reminiscing about General Hammond, laughter periodically erupting. When the sauce was ready, she left it to simmer for a while and returned, chocolate milk in hand, to the living room. Daniel held out a hand for her and she sat next to him on the couch. He was still nursing his first drink and she was thankful for it. She was even more grateful when he reached over and took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Samantha will be sorry to have not been here,” she said softly.

“Indeed,” Teal’c was solemn now. “General Hammond was a formidable warrior and an outstanding commanding officer.”

“How are his daughter and grand-daughters doing?”

“They’re okay Vala. I spoke with them this morning. They’re planning the memorial service for the 1st. God, he loved those girls. The youngest granddaughter just graduated from high school last week. Top of her class. He was so proud,” Jack’s voice cracked a bit. “He’d have been so excited about the twins Daniel.”

Daniel cleared his throat loudly, “Well, we were planning on calling him today…so..” he coughed. “Think I’ll go check on dinner. Vala?”

“Right,” she said, startled, “I’ll put the pasta on.” She followed him to the kitchen. When she walked in, he was holding onto the counter with both hands, his head bent. She put a hand on his shoulder, “Daniel?”

He cleared his throat and sniffed before turning to face her. “Hey…” he said thickly.

She gazed at him, her eyes full of love, “Can you fill the pot with water? It needs to boil before I can drop the pasta.”

“Sure thing,” he sputtered, clearing his throat again. “Anything else?”

“You can slice the bread and I’ll make a lot of noise that makes it sound like we’re in here working our asses off. Take your time.” She squeezed his hand and turned to put the pot on the burner. And then she felt his arms around her from behind, hands gently holding her tummy and resting his head on her shoulder. She pivoted around to face him, taking his head in both her hands and looking into his eyes, “I’m sorry about your friend Daniel. I know what he meant to you.”

His breath hitched, “Me too. He was a great man. He was like…” he broke off.

“The memorial service is on the first of July?”

“Uh-huh. We can delay our trip until the next day I guess.”

“Absolutely darling, if you are sure you still want to go that is.”

“Need to sit on a beach with you and just…”

“Which beach?”

“Remember the place I was originally going to propose? There.”

“Sounds lovely. What’s say we get this dinner finished up. T. is likely starving and I’m….”  
“Eating for three?”

The next day, however, Daniel was back in shutdown mode. He barricaded himself in his study, pouring over his books, all of which he had previously devoured, or proven wrong. Nevertheless, it passed the time and focussed his brain on something other than Hammond’s death. His latest fascination was The Structure of Time. It was a theoretical book that relied on highly abstract concepts and it was the kind of thing that transported Daniel into his own paradise: a purely intellectual nirvana.

That morning, Vala had set off to the mall to try to find a decent dress for the funeral and anything else she might need for their honeymoon. She had of course, shunned the maternity stores in favour of her regular haunts and had spent a frustrating hour before grudgingly admitting to herself that she was “ready for potato sacks” and heading for Motherhood Maternity. She was pleasantly surprised that they had a lot of really nice dresses and pretty much everything else she needed. Credit card in hand, she set about finding some clothes that fit and were comfortable and that would see her through the summer months. Although she had winced when the salesgirl said it, she knew that with twins it would be safer not to buy too much now because she was likely to need a much larger size later on. After an hour, she’d had her fill of shopping and added her packages to the one full of the baby clothes she had picked up at Macy’s.   
When she arrived back home, Daniel had not moved from where he’d been since 7:00 that morning. “I’m surprised there isn’t dust on him,” Vala muttered as she walked past the room unnoticed. She knew enough about him by now not to interrupt, especially when he was so clearly avoiding something more important by reading. She laughed ruefully at the notion of what life would have been like if he hadn’t regained his sight. It was highly unlikely that many books in his field were available on CD and she knew he would have slipped into a deep depression, which in fact was the only outcome imaginable. When she thought of the number of injuries, near deaths and well, deaths, that the man had suffered over the years, it was a wonder he could even walk let alone maintain the physical regimen he had. What little muscle he had lost after the accident was already back under the wise tutelage of Teal’c and with the exception of a slightly weakened leg, he was pretty much back to normal, well as normal as he ever was at least. As she made lunch she found herself remembering the way her body had looked in a full-length three-way mirror. Even though she had been pregnant before, her body had never, what was the word the salesgirl had used? ‘blossomed’ quite so fully. She knew it was all babies, but she had suddenly felt fat at the mall and then had felt guilty for being upset. “I’ve spent the better part of my adult life as a host of some sort or another I guess,” she laughed to herself. She picked up the tray with their lunch on it and ventured into what she called ‘the crypt’ to see if she could tempt him with food.

She knocked on the open door so that she wouldn’t startle him. “Daniel, take a break for lunch?” No reply. “DANIEL?”   
Jumping nearly out of his skin, he complained loudly about, “Certain people sneaking up on me all the time!” and looked at her over his glasses, protest clear in his eyes. “What Vala?” he snapped.  
“I’m home now so I thought you might like some lunch.”  
“Oh,” he said without looking up, “Didn’t know you’d left.”

Vala threw her hands up in frustration, “You know what? Never mind, I didn’t mean to interrupt your blessed alone time.” She turned on her heel and marched out with more than just a little hauteur. “I see you are back to your old self.”

He found her on the patio, angrily eating a banana and muttering words like ‘condescending intellectual’ and mimicking the way he said, ‘Whaaa tuh Vala?’.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked clearly oblivious to her mood. ‘I’ve just been engrossed in that book. Fascinating really. It argues that our experience of time may ultimately derive from perceptual processes and that temporal experience is a prerequisite for abilities such as event perception and comparison, rather than an abstraction...”  
“I guess I should be flattered,” she said icily.

“Huh?”  
“Well you deigned to eat your lunch with me and you actually think that I would understand what the hell you are talking about or even care for that matter. Really Daniel, there’s no one I know who cares about theories of cognitive linguistics except YOU!” She rose and stomped back into the house, closing the patio door so forcefully it bounced back open.

“You knew enough to know I was talking about cognitive linguistics!” he hollered after her. He looked at the plate she had made for him: all his favourites—ham sandwich, sliced apples, a banana and even chocolate cookies and began to eat absent-mindedly while continuing to read. It was better not to venture near her when she was like this, he reasoned and allowed himself to escape back into the world of semantics.

An hour later, he had finished the book (again) and decided to see if she had cooled down. She had not--as he discovered when he found her upstairs in the bedroom. She had laid out a large assortment of baby clothes on the bed and was idly folding and re-folding them. His attempt at breezy chitchat had met with stony silence and so he began a perusal of her purchases. “These little things over here are nice,” he began tentatively.

“Sleepers! They are called sleepers. The book says I need a minimum of seven in each size; there are only two of each there. Figured I’d get some more when Sam gets back so she can give me a hand.”  
“Um…I see you have a few of these things with snaps too…”  
“Undershirts!”  
“Yep…guess so. And this is pretty,” he had picked up a tiny knitted dress with strawberries embroidered on it.  
“It has a matching sweater and hat,” she scolded.  
This was going to be a lot tougher than usual, he thought and tried to focus. “What are these for?”  
“Oh for pity’s sake Daniel, they are wash cloths!” She threw a pacifier at him hitting him squarely in the face. “There was a sale!”  
He wisely chose to ignore the projectile and struggled on, “I like these little overalls; I imagine the snaps make it easier to change diapers?”  
“You know what? Never mind!” she began gathering up the clothes and carried them into the room that was going to be the nursery. Currently it was set up as a guest room and she put the clothing into the empty drawers on the bureau and threw herself onto the bed. She lay there panting in anger, trying to collect herself. He was just trying to be nice, to make up for earlier. It wasn’t as if he intended to ignore her; it was just the way he was, had always been, especially when he was trying to avoid dealing with his feelings. She was being selfish, she was sure of that. But to not have even noticed when she left the house? And she had spoken to him, or at least she remembered telling him-- clearly he hadn’t heard. “I guess he learned how to tune me out years ago…. like some sort of harpy,” she thought sadly. She had believed they were past all of that now and it wasn’t like she was constantly pestering him, she hadn’t in almost two years. She covered her eyes with her right arm and sighed deeply.  
“So, did you find anything to wear tomorrow?” he asked as he entered the room. The decision was now hers: would she continue to snap at him or would she let him off the hook?

“Yes, and quite a few other things too. Seems I’m into maternity clothing already though.”

“Wow.”

“C’mon I’ll show you,” she smiled at him as she rose to her feet shakily. “Oh shit, I’m dizzy again; I hate this!”

“Is it normal?” Daniel’s concern was tinged with panic as he rushed to steady her.

“Oh yes,” she reassured him, “entirely normal. I needed to sit up first and then wait before I stood up. I’m just not used to it. I’ve always been able to jump about. Won’t be a problem for long though because I’ll need a hoist just to get upright soon. I’m feeling rather like a beached whale already.”

“I don’t think so,” he wrapped his arms around her. “See, you still fit.” She sighed contentedly against his chest. He kissed the top of her head before tilting her face upwards, “I’m sorry for whatever I did.”

She laughed and shook her head; some things weren’t likely to change. “You are an incredibly annoying person you know?” she swatted him playfully on his chest. “Adorable, but really irritating.”

“Uh-huh. Birds of a feather…” She stopped his answer with a passionate kiss that he broke away from suddenly. “I really want to see the clothes. Why don’t you try them on for me?” He was wound too tightly to do anything else.

Vala astutely surmised that his rejection had nothing to do with her but sprang from his desire to shut out his emotions and the vulnerability he so often revealed when they made love. It would of course do him a world of good to let some of it out. Nevertheless, she led him into their room to begin the fashion show.

Daniel was feeling really shaky himself, like he was hanging on for dear life and the slightest stumble would hurl him into the abyss. He was self-aware enough to know exactly what he was doing but it was a matter of self-preservation and it had kept him sane in the face of a lifetime of loss. He’d been surprised at how emotional he was when he was blind but he suspected that was because he couldn’t bury himself in work the way he had always done. Now, it was time to suck it up and be strong.

“Surely you don’t want to see everything I bought?” Vala asked incredulously. “There is a lot of stuff.”

“Nope. Want to see it all. Bring it on.”

“God he’s transparent,” she thought. Filling time with watching her model was almost the same as burying himself in the office. This was a slight distraction and one that at least on the surface seemed to satisfy the required ‘togetherness’ quotient for the day. “Not to worry though,” she thought a tad wickedly, “I’m a master manipulator!” She arranged the clothing into outfits, accelerating the sexiness factor with each successive outfit, ending of course with the little number she had ordered from Victoria’s Secret that had conveniently arrived that morning. And so the fashion show began with Vala feeling quite ridiculous for most of it and Daniel approving wholeheartedly of everything, though clearly he was detached and pre-occupied. Vala made a silent vow never to repeat this stupidity again ever. She laughed at herself though when she recalled that there was a time when she would have loved parading around for him. Well, she was going to enjoy the lingerie portion of the presentation.

“Almost finished darling?” Daniel asked with no hint of boredom. She laughed and began to strip off the pair of pants and shirt she was wearing. Daniel raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Just wanted you to see the new undies and bra dear. Imagine my surprise at finding such sexy stuff in a maternity store? I won’t show you all of them but these bras have a feature that might prove interesting for something other than breast-feeding…” she tugged on the snaps and let the cups fall away revealing her darkened nipples.

“Well, those look promising,” he said wryly. “You are planning on breast-feeding then?”

That was a sure-fire way to dampen any sexual tension she was feeling, “Yes, of course! Is there some sort of cultural taboo against it on this planet? Because if there is…I don’t care…”

“Whoa, calm down. It’s not a taboo--in fact, it’s the norm. It’s just not that easy to breast-feed twins or at least that’s what I heard. And it would be really exhausting for you.”

“There are lots of ways we can manage things so let’s not worry about it now.”

“It makes me happy that you want to do it, you know. It’s a big commitment.”

“Oh, and the pregnancy isn’t?” she laughed and headed back into the closet. “Two more items and then we’re done this nonsense.” She emerged moments later in a pregnancy swimsuit.

“Well, that certainly gives you ah…coverage I guess.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed darling; I still have a bikini for the honeymoon but this one is better for ‘public’ places and it I think it’s cute.”

“It’s cute honey…but I don’t understand why you’d want to cover that beautiful tummy..”

“Wait till it’s covered in a road map of stretch marks and you’ll sing a different tune..”

“Never! I will always think you are beautiful…” She knew he was sincere which made him even more desirable. With a devious smirk, she headed back to the closet.

“There’s more?” Daniel was doing his very best not to sound bored.

“This was your idea Daniel,” she called back to him. “I wanted to make love…” She walked out of the closet wearing a white baby doll negligee, see-through except for the opaque lace top and matching thong. She definitely had Daniel’s attention and he gulped nervously.

“That’s uh…really…um…pretty,” he stammered trying to sound blasé and failing miserably.

“Oh, do you like it?” she said trying to sound innocent and failing equally as miserably. She walked deliberately to the bed before crawling toward him like a panther. He retreated up the bed and she simply crawled up his body until they were nose to nose. “I don’t bite Daniel” she purred, “well, not much…” He scowled at her so she traced her tongue over his lips. When he didn’t react, she sat back on her haunches, positioning herself squarely on his penis, which, it seemed, had a mind of its own and was not quite as indifferent as its keeper.

“Vala,” he practically whined, “give me a break please.”

“Ah, you see Daniel, a ‘break’ is exactly what you need and you,” she squirmed on his erection, “damn well know it.”

He groaned, half in arousal and half in exasperation. “I am not ruled by my erections Vala, or else I would have given in to you the first day we met. I am in charge up here,” he pointed at his head emphatically. “And I, me,” he waved both hand over his head, “Daniel Jackson, do not want to have sex with you this afternoon.”

“Cognitive linguistics: you think, you talk, and you cut all the emotional and physical responses out of the mix. That’s what you are!” She smiled in triumph, “You are a cognitive linguist.” She ground into him for emphasis, before getting off the bed and walking toward the closet again. She cast him a backwards glance, “But you are a horny cognitive linguist who just talked himself out of getting laid. So you certainly aren’t very cunning!” It was a bad joke but she couldn’t resist.

“Oh, good one Vala, like I’ve never heard that one before!” he shouted after her.

“Time for plan B,” she thought, determined that he would let her make love to him. She walked brazenly out stark naked and carrying a container of honey butter. Daniel had settled back onto the pillow and was reading Harry Potter not having reflected on the fact that he could have left the bedroom had he chosen. She lay down, head at the end of the bed, grabbed a pillow and get comfy without his acknowledgement. She calmly perused the label on the product and then began to apply a liberal amount to her abdomen and began to rub it in using slow circles. In her mind she began a slow countdown, “He will smell the lavender and look up in three, two, one…and the winner is? Vala!”

“Vala, what are you doing?” he eyes were locked on her fingers and their movements.

“Huh? Oh Daniel, didn’t mean to disturb. Just moisturizing my tummy; apparently it’s very important that I do this twice each day—according to the book I’m reading.” She spread her legs ever so slightly and scooped another dollop of honey butter. “I’ll be out of your hair in a moment…”

“Smells nice, lavender isn’t it?”

“I guess so, I haven’t really bothered to read the ingredient list.” He picked up the jar and began to read. “Daniel, can you just make sure I’m covering the whole area?”

“Okay…” He scooped up some of the cream that was already on her, “I think you should make sure to get the entire area on the sides and underneath, you can’t possibly see that part so I’ll just…” She shifted her bottom down the bed toward him and spread her legs further.

“Oh thanks honey,” she said cheerfully. “Just make sure to rub it in thoroughly; it mentions that on the instructions.” And so he began. “This is just too easy,” she laughed internally and then began to make low sounds of appreciation. “Mmmmm…that’s nice….oooh that’s a little tender there, must be a stretching ligament…could you rub it a little….mmmmm…exactly…ooh that’s lovely, thank-you….” The application began to become more sensual than utilitarian, as the feel of her skin, the smell of the lotion, her moans and the increasing subtle musk of her arousal were intoxicating. These things only added to his already inflamed libido as he stroked her. Suddenly she sat up, “Thanks Daniel, that’s probably enough for now.” She kissed him on the cheek and made a move to get out of bed. In her mind she was counting again, “He will grab me in three, two, one..” and he did.

“Vala, don’t go,” his eyes were blue fire, “want you…” She reached up to touch his cheek and he pulled her on top of him before gently turning her on to her back and practically swallowing her whole.

Their lovemaking was as frantic as it was passionate and she resolved to simply hold on and let him ravage her. Not that it wasn’t enjoyable, it was; but she made no demands nor did she speak to him. It wasn’t about the sex anyway and that had in fact been the whole point of her long seduction. She knew it would help him open himself to his grief, to let go of his iron grip on his emotion. And when it was over and they lay together chests heaving, she knew without looking at him that tears were freely running down the sides of his face onto the pillow.

She lay there completely still, head on his chest, holding him tightly. After a while, she shifted off slightly, propped herself up on one elbow, and gazed silently into his clouded eyes, smoothing the hair on his forehead and stroking the side of his face. She saw the man she loved, open and vulnerable, and for a moment she lost herself in the sweeping rush of her own emotions: the word ‘love’ was not enough and though she wanted to speak words of love and comfort, she could do nothing but gaze into his eyes, hoping that he would see the depth of her love for him. He gently reached for her and pulled her into a soft kiss. He had never kissed her like this before; it was so loving and tender, and it took her breath away with both its intensity and it simplicity. They rolled onto their sides and shared the pillow, staring into each other’s eyes. He stroked her face with the back of his hand and she lightly kissed his knuckles and sighed, “Daniel…I…”

He raised a finger to her lips, “Vala, I need to say a few things to you and I just need you to listen okay?” She nodded mutely. He kissed her sweetly and rolling onto his back again, he continued. “I’ve been alone for most of my life and there has been a lot of loss. When I lost my parents, the only family I had was Nick and he left it up to a series of foster parents to raise me. Some of them were very kind—some were pretty horrible, none of them loved me. In school I was the geeky loser, and everyone’s favourite punching bag. When I was 18, I was cut loose from the system, and I was on my own.”

“Oh Daniel…”

“No, please I am not telling you this because I want pity and I certainly don’t feel sorry for myself so just let me finish okay?”

“Okay…”

“And as arrogant as it sounds, despite all the crap in my life, I knew I was smart, smarter than most people, and having been so well loved by my parents, I didn’t allow others to really hurt me. I turned to purely intellectual pursuits in part because I had an insatiable need to learn but also because somehow it made me feel closer to my parents, and I guess keeping my mind perpetually in motion kept me from really facing the trauma of watching them die. In a way, books became my sole companions.”

“And thus you had three PhDs by the time you were 22…”

“Well, there wasn’t much else to occupy me since I had no real friendships or family. Books anchored me, transporting me to places better than where I was…they never hit me or rejected me or abandoned me. They’re permanent. And when I needed to escape or to be comforted, I always turned to books. And I’ve had many reasons to turn to them time and time again in my life, and so when the General died…it’s kind of something I did by rote, you know?”

“You’ve thought about this a lot…”

“Well, yeah…I kind of have because when I lost my sight, I was so lost and so emotionally fragile and I just couldn’t seem to get a grip on the grief…if you recall, I cried like an infant for weeks.”

“You are always so hard on yourself Daniel…relentless actually….”

“But it was because the only thing that grounded me, that kept me from drowning, is my books and by extension my work. When I couldn’t do either I was set adrift…”

“And when your sight returned, the first thing you did was reach for a book…”

“Yes. A story about a little boy whose parents are killed, who is being raised without love…”

“Who has special abilities that help to save the world…7 times I believe?” she laughed a little

“Who feels alone until he creates his own family…”

She began to laugh in earnest. “My god Daniel, you are a…”

“Literary archetype. I know; it’s pathetic actually,” he laughed with her. “Anyway, the problem I now have is that you won’t let me shut myself up with my books and run away from pain…”

“No, I guess I won’t. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You aren’t, we aren’t.”

“Still love my books…but…”

“You love me more?”

He laughed, “Something like that although it’s a little more complicated.”

“Always is with you Daniel.”

“Look who’s talking!” he teased.

“Daniel,” her tone was serious now, “are you feeling any better?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” he admitted. “Not quite so wound up, just sad, really sad.” He sighed deeply and pulled her into his arms again.

“Daniel?”

“Mmmm?”

“How would you feel if we changed Scott’s second name to George?”

“I’d like that.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Daniel whumpage and the birth of the babies. See links at end to see pics of how big I see Vala gettting with the twins.

Late August 2008

Vala heard the front door close and knew that he was gone; he would get into the staff car and head to the mountain and she might never see him again. But she was angry, damn angry. She was 26 weeks pregnant, with twins, and he was buggering off to Atlantis for at least 4 weeks, probably longer. It would be almost three weeks until he was even there and if anything happened to the babies during that time, he wouldn’t make it home in time. And even though intellectually she knew the importance of the mission, emotionally she was feeling abandoned. There had been a lot of tears and shouting, and he was still going. She was terrified of losing him, or the babies and he was still going. She had begged him, clung to him, thrown things at him. And he was still going.

As he was leaving, she had said, “I hope it’s worth it to you.”

“Vala, please honey…it’s my job. You know that better than anyone else.”

“Hope that will comfort you when that Wraith sucks the life from your body…” she had shot back. “Or when I….”she had started crying again and he had held her close and stroked her hair and told her how much he loved her. And then he had gone.

Alone. She was suddenly acutely aware of the silence of the house; she could hear the ticking of the cuckoo clock he had bought for her, even though she knew he hated cuckoo clocks. Every half hour, two little wooden figures popped out of two little doors and danced towards each other, kissing and then dancing back inside. She loved it and hung it prominently in the kitchen. As she heard its Bavarian tune, she waddled into the kitchen to look at it. It never failed to amuse her and every time she looked at it, she knew how much he loved her. She walked toward it to pull the weights back up and was surprised to find a piece of paper taped to it.

“Vala,  
I want you to know that leaving you today is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. If anything happens to me, I wanted you to know that I love you, truly love you. You’re my best friend, my home, my life. But I still have to do this and although it’s killing me to go, I know you’ll understand in time, just as I know how much you love me. You are my beloved.  
D.”

“Shit!” She grabbed her purse and dashed, so to speak, to the car. At 26 weeks, she was the size she was when she delivered Adria so she wasn’t moving very quickly at all these days. Driving as fast as she dared, she headed to the mountain. It seemed like she hit every red light there was between their house and the SGC and when the guard at the entrance wanted to compare notes on their respective pregnancies, she rolled up the window and screeched away. Once she passed through the endless barrage of security checks, and made it to the elevator she was completely winded and the ride to sub-level 28 seemed endless--but at least she had time to catch her breath and figure out what to say to him if she managed to catch him before he left. When she stepped out of the elevator, she literally bounced off of Samantha, as she tried to enter the same elevator.

“Vala, what are you doing here? I thought I was picking you up after work so we could go shopping?”

“Well, actually, I’m here to see Daniel. Please tell me he hasn’t left yet?”

Samantha smiled, “Okay, he hasn’t left yet!”

“Do you know where he is?”

“The trip’s been delayed a few hours so I suspect he’s in his office, last minute research or something, I’m actually heading up, so I’ll take you there okay?” She put her arm around Vala protectively, acutely aware that something was ‘up’ between them, judging by Daniel’s hangdog expression this morning and Vala’s near hysteria. “You know, it won’t be that long really and we’ve all got plans to keep you company and make sure you aren’t alone. Tealc’s on strict orders to look after you so please don’t worry okay? We’ll keep you busy and before you know it he’ll be back.”

“Okay,” Vala sniffled. “Do you need to speak with him because I’ll just wait outside the door until you have finished. I need to talk to him alone.”

“Nope, don’t need to see him—just wanted to get you here safely,” she squeezed Vala’s shoulders. “Can I take you to dinner after we get the car seats today?”

Vala nodded and smiled feebly and then knocked on Daniel’s door. She was in his arms before he had even fully opened it, almost knocking him off his feet and collapsing against him sobbing.

“Whoa…okay…hold on honey…what’s wrong?”

“I got your note,” she blubbered. “I couldn’t let you leave before I told you…”

“Sshhhh…it’s okay, just breathe…I’ve got you.”

“I had to tell you that it’s okay, that I understand, that I’ll be fine so that you’d know, so that you wouldn’t go away thinking I…. oh Daniel…I’m so sorry…”

He lifted her face, and smiled at her. “It’s okay, I understand and I’ll be fine,’ he echoed and pulled her into a warm embrace, gently rocking her. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got about 4 hours to wait so maybe we could go cuddle somewhere private? I still have quarters on the base you know.”

They spent the hours wrapped in each other’s arms sometimes talking about Janus’ hidden lab and what he hoped he’d find there and making plans for when he got back, and the hours sped by. And then she walked him to the gate all smiles, in spite of her fears, and sent him on his way with a quick kiss and a hug. Somewhere deep inside her, she was screaming, “Don’t go!”

Four weeks later, she was back at the mountain only this time she was waiting for his return through the gate. A medical team was standing by, to take over from the Atlantis team that was bringing him through: no doubt on a gurney. More injuries, more rehab. Electrocution? How close had it been this time? “Pretty damn close,” she muttered angrily as she waited. She’d known something like this would happen and she knew she should be grateful that he was still alive, but she was just angry, and tired, and almost 30 weeks pregnant with twins, and facing how many months looking after him, in addition to the babies, by herself, and if he thought he was going off-world again anytime soon he had another think coming and if he…the wormhole opened. He was back. At least this time, there wasn’t anybody running.

He smiled at her weakly, “Hey there…”

“Hey yourself,” she replied without enthusiasm.

“Sorry, it was just supposed to be a routine thing and then suddenly we were kidnapped…”

“It’s fine,” she was tight-lipped, barely holding it together because she could see he was in agony and she was powerless, again. “We’ll talk after the doctors are through with things…”

“Honey?” he called as they wheeled him towards the infirmary, “I think I’m through with off-world missions for a while…”

As Carolyn Lam explained the extent of Daniel’s injuries, “Mostly burns, one quite severe, and a few broken ribs...not nearly as bad as I had been led to believe…internal organs are undamaged…mostly just a case of treating the burns and managing the pain until he gains back his strength…” Vala only half heard her: she was stroking his head and holding his hand, their eyes communicating in silence all the emotions they both felt.

“I’m sorry.”   
“It’s not your fault.”  
“I love you.”  
“I almost lost you again.”  
“Forgive me.”  
“Nothing to forgive.”

Finally Daniel spoke aloud, “Holy cow, you’ve certainly ‘blossomed’ since I left!”

“I’m huge; I’m starring in the next Free Willy movie.”

“You are gorgeous.”

“Blah blah blah…the doctor says the babies are doing great and growing…”

“Clearly they’re growing darling, you look like you’re about to bust.”

“I’d hit you but it would seem cruel, given the agony you’re in.”

“Tanked up on morphine baby…smack away!”

“God Daniel, you really scared me this time,” she whispered through a stifled sob. She swooned a bit, “Oh shit, I need to sit down” She had an iron grip on the bed rails.

“Some HELP here please?” Daniel bellowed.

Once she was settled on the rapidly produced chair, she explained, “I’m okay Daniel, I’m just having a lot of contractions…”

“You are having contractions? Why the hell didn’t you mention this?”

“Not real ones, just Braxton-Hicks, quite painful at times and they throw me off balance. Actually, sometimes the babies move together and I lose my balance then too. I’m fine now.” She pulled her chair as close as possible to the bed and put the rail down so she could get even closer to him.

He stroked her face gently. “You are so beautiful…” he was beginning to get sleepy. “More beautiful than you’ve ever been…”

December 6, 2008

“Daniel, please please… please…the books say it might bring on labour. I want them out of me, TODAY. For me? Please?”

“Honey, We’ve tried to make love every day this week and it hasn’t worked. Besides, you should be resting. And according to my research, it has a negligible effect…”

“I’ve BEEN resting for 6 weeks, can’t do a damn thing, can’t even go to the bathroom without you helping me. I just want to have this finished…I’m so miserable and I’M BORED!”

“The key apparently is to try to get the body to produce oxytocin naturally, so I’ve found another method I’m more than happy to try, if you want…sex just hasn’t been pleasurable for you honey and I get all my enjoyment from giving you pleasure.” She raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously. “Well, maybe not all my enjoyment…” he blushed.

“What’s this new remedy then?”

“You’ll like it. Let’s get you upstairs and into bed.”

He helped her to the bed and lay down beside her. “Okay, just relax...” he began to kiss her, sensuously caressing her body.

“Thought you said, no sex…”

“Sshhh…” He continued kissing her neck and began to unbutton her shirt, stroking her breasts gently before reaching up and unsnapping the cups. Despite his intentions, the sight of those full, delicious breasts had his penis twitching. He began to pay close attention to her nipples lightly sucking them and massaging them into tight buds.

Vala began moaning; she had always loved this but lord, today it felt heavenly. Her breasts began to leak slightly, which sent a bolt of arousal straight to Daniel’s increasingly hard penis. He ignored it and continued sucking and stroking as she began to writhe. “God Daniel, you’re going to make me come…”

“A delightful by-product…lucky me,” he smiled around her right nipple and then abruptly sucked it into his mouth and circled his tongue around the puckered flesh. She arched off the bed and cried out his name. “God, I’m enjoying this,” he mused before savagely attacking her left nipple, nibbling it and dragging his right thumb back and forth over the right one. He laughed, “Vala, apparently you have three clitorises…who knew?”

“God, Daniel…please…ohmygod…. mmmm…please…please…” Reaching into her panties, he gave her one single, expert stroke and she was thrashing and bucking off the bed, screaming as multiple orgasms ripped through her body. He never stopped his tongue as she came, running it tortuously over her swollen nipples, relentlessly pushing her into climax after climax.

“Wow, that was so damn much fun!” he laughed and held her as the aftershocks shuddered through her.

“Mmmmm…”

“You okay sweetie?” he teased.

“I have never had an orgasm like that in my life and you’ve given me hundreds so…” she kissed him passionately, appreciatively, seductively and began to unbuckle his belt. She succeeded quickly and grabbed his throbbing and slick penis.

“No no honey, this wasn’t about me…don’t…oh god…”

“If I want to suck your cock, I’m going to suck your cock…so you might as well just shut up!” She took him suddenly into her mouth, eliciting a hiss from Daniel and he instinctively thrust into her. She began to suck him, sliding up and down on his stiff shaft, dragging her tongue around and across the swollen head. Moaning, he reached for her and brought her lips to his, kissing her deeply.

“Can you taste yourself on my lips darling?”

Daniel moaned.

“So you want some more?” she teased as she stroked him.

“Uh-huh,” he whimpered as she dropped her head again, practically swallowing him whole. “Oh god, so good…. so good….” She ran a fingernail down his length before settling into a gentle massage of the area just under his testicles that always drove him mad. “Oh god, Vala, yes, god…” He thrust three times and then came hard into her mouth, and she milked every ounce of pleasure from him as he did.

He lay there, inert, panting…”Jesus, Vala, that was…mmmm…so good,” he pulled her up to him, kissing her hotly.

“I take it you approve?” she smiled at him wickedly.

“God, yes!” She pushed his shirt up and traced her fingers gently over the burn scars that now covered his stomach. “But you are a very naughty girl, this was supposed to be about you.”

“It was. Don’t you know by now how happy it makes me when I drive you crazy with pleasure? It’s nice to know I can still do it, even if I’m 25 years pregnant with your demon offspring.”

“40 weeks and they’re not demons, you’ve just made too nice a nest for them. I’m so proud of you; I know it’s been difficult…almost impossible really…what with my 4 weeks of recovery time, again, and how you can’t get comfortable or sleep well. But we’re ready, well as ready as we’ll ever be…you know it’s going to be really hard for a while.”

“The doctor says she’ll induce if I’m still pregnant on Wednesday, so I’ll need you to put all the stuff in the car before we go…you know, car seats, suitcase, baby stuff…”

“Okay…” he was getting sleepy. “Let’s get ready for bed, make it an early night?” He lifted her off the bed and carried her to the bathroom, clenching his teeth at the weight but never letting on. Gently, he eased her feet to the floor and helped her stand up; he tried to catch his breath before asking, “So, you want a shower before bed?” They had found that the force of the water did a lot to ease some of the muscle strain on her tummy.

“Daniel, you can’t keep carrying me around. I’ve gained 55 pounds! And it’s not like I was feather light before! I’m 5ft 9 you know…”

“Yes, I’ve noticed…your height is just one of the many things that makes you so damn attractive…”

“These babies are going to be huge…especially for twins. God, I look like a circus freak,” she whined as she caught a view of herself in the mirror. “I’ll never lose this weight…”

“Okay, first of all, the doctor says you’ve gained exactly the right amount of weight and up to two-thirds of it is going to disappear in the delivery room…and with breastfeeding and your metabolism…you’ll be back to yourself in no time…and even if you stay chubby…it doesn’t matter…doesn’t change anything…you are gorgeous…” he kissed her neck. “Sexy…” he trailed his tongue across her collar bone and nuzzled in her hair. “And, I will love you…any size, any age, anywhere, always….” He captured her lips in his and kissed her tenderly.

Later, as they cuddled in bed, he stroked her back and tried his best to get her comfortable. He’d taken to sleeping on the floor beside the bed as soon as she drifted into a fitful sleep but she hadn’t noticed or at least not consciously anyway. He didn’t get that far this night though because at 11:00, she awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright and shaking him violently. “Daniel, my water just broke…”

“Okay, let me get you dressed and then we’ll be on our way.” He was nowhere near as calm as he thought he was.

“You need to get dressed first Daniel; toss me some clean clothes and ah…a couple of towels. You’ll need to do something about the bed when you get home,” she laughed.

“Huh?”

“Trust me darling…”

They were in the packed car and on the road in less than half an hour, Teal’c in tow; he had been watching Star Trek’s classic ‘Spock’s Brain’ on television. It was snowing of course and Daniel cursed under his breath when he found himself behind a slow-moving salt truck. “I’m fine honey, no contractions yet so for heaven’s sake calm down.”

“I’m calm, totally calm, completely calm…just want to get past this truck…”

“If you try to pass that truck, on a snow-covered road at almost midnight, I will kill you. Take it easy, you’re freaking me out!”

“Right. Good. Slowing down. No rush. Having twins but no rush.”

“Daniel! For god’s sake BREATHE…I need you to be…. ahhhh…. oh…”

“What? Vala? What’s wrong?”

She panted through clenched teeth, “Fine now…just the first contraction…just keep focused on the road…now is the time to employ that carefully honed skill of repressing your emotions darling.”

“Right…got it…anyway, we’re here. I’m parking in the emergency parking.”

Teal’c, who had been entirely silent during the short drive, simply picked up Vala and carried her to the front desk, depositing her deftly in a wheelchair that seemed to appear magically. Daniel tossed him the cell phone, “Call Sam.” And then they disappeared into the Labour and Delivery area.

A few hours later, Daniel came out to update the crowd that had gathered: Sam, Teal’c, Cameron and Carolyn so far with Jack apparently on the way. “Well, things are progressing well,” he announced wearily. “She’s amazing you know,” he smiled. “Doctor says she will be able to move to the delivery room in a few hours, maybe sooner. They’ve given her an epidural since the contractions were getting a little, ‘intense’ to say the least, and she needs some rest, but they’re going to let it wear off when it’s time to push.”

“How far apart are they,” Carolyn asked, “and how far is she dilated?”

“Three minutes…and 7 cm…and I’m going back now Sam so quit looking at me that way! She asked me to come and talk to you guys, and she would like Carolyn with her as well.”

He turned on his heel, still smiling broadly, and headed up the hall again; Carolyn Lam followed at a trot.

“Jeez, that was just way too much information…” Mitchell griped.

“ColonelMitchell, I’m surprised that you are so unnerved…a battle scarred warrior such as yourself?”

Sam choked on her Diet Coke and sputtered, “Don’t tell me you are one of those guys who’s afraid of all that ‘female stuff’?”

“Just a little nervous, I guess and I really don’t need the visual…”

“How much longer do you think it will be SamanthaCarter?”

“Well, it’s 4 in the morning so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that these two babies are going to be born on December 7th.” They all laughed.

“When do you expect the General to get here?” Cameron asked semi-casually.

“The General, Jack, will be here by noon. He’s catching a flight at 6 a.m. Says he’s going to take his Christmas vacation early…apparently Washington grinds to a halt in December anyway so we’ll have a few weeks together…”

“Especially this December; I mean seriously why bother with only a few weeks left in his term?”

“Yeah,” Sam giggled, “I mean why should he start working at all now?”

“Is anyone interested in poker?” Teal’c pulled out a deck of cards. “I have come prepared.”

“And I,” Sam said with some triumph, “have travel Scrabble.”

“I believe I am at an unfair advantage unless you allow words in my own tongue,” Teal’c did not like to lose.

“Fine…fine…whatever…but we’re playing POKER first!” Cameron also did not like to lose, especially to Sam.

The hours passed quickly and shortly after sunrise, Carolyn appeared beaming and breathless. “Hannah Claire and Scott George Jackson were born at,” she looked at the paper in her hand, “6:48 and 7:12. Hannah is 7 1b 4 ounces, and Scott is--hold on to your hats folks-- 8 1bs even.”

“Holy smokes!” Cameron shouted. “That is a LOT of baby for twins!”

“Is she okay?” Sam was suddenly emotional, “was it hard for her?”

“Actually, the woman is pretty amazing; she’s doing great. Daniel, on the other hand…” she laughed, ‘is a total mess! But he was so great; I’ve never seen a man so wonderful in the delivery room. I wish you all could have seen his face when that little girl was born; it was pretty moving, to say the least. And Vala, gosh she’s unbelievable!” She took a breath before continuing, “She delivered that baby boy with just two pushes. They’ll be talking about her over coffee in the nurses’ lounge.”

“How are baby Hannah and Scott doing?” Teal’c was not ready to celebrate quite yet.

“They are terrific. When I left them she was feeding Hannah and Daniel was holding his son and cooing to him about…” she broke off into a fit of giggles.

“Anthropology?” Sam suggested. Carolyn continued to laugh.

“Archaeology?” Teal’c offered.

“God, not linguistics?” Cameron scoffed.

Carolyn gathered her wits about her, “Ha-Haw-Hockey!” she took up giggling again.

“Don’t tell Jack, he’ll tease him mercilessly,” Sam warned. “Seriously Carolyn, when can we see them?”

“I’d say if we all went to breakfast, that should give them enough time to get her settled in a room. We’ll bring Daniel some coffee…he’s a little loopy I think.”

 

Daniel stroked his son’s face with one finger and marveled at his perfection. “He’s got a lot of hair,” he said to no one in particular. He glanced up at Vala again who smiled broadly at him.

“Let me see him,” she said softly and reached out a hand. Hannah was busy nursing already and neither she nor Vala seemed to be having any difficulty figuring things out. Daniel laid Scott in her free arm and he turned his little face looking for a breast as well. “Oh dear, I need a third arm,” Vala smiled at Daniel. “Okay, you need to get a pillow for me and I’ll pop him on like a football…good, now hold her in place while I get this one latched on…yep, we’ve got it…god, these kids are like blooming barracudas…and here I was worried about whether they would be easy nursers…not all babies are you know…”

“Does that hurt?”

“Yep, but only at first. I’ll get used to it soon enough…and it really is the most…the most…” her breath hitched.

“The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

She smiled at him through shining eyes, tears beginning to overflow her lids in big heavy drops. Daniel bent to kiss her, “I’m not sure I’ve said this today, but…

Hannah pulled of and looked in the direction of her Daddy’s voice and he lost track of his thought. “God, she’s just the sweetest…”

“She’s done and needs burping before she falls asleep, can you take her?” Vala interrupted. Daniel took the baby a bit awkwardly but seemed an instant expert at generating the required burp. “Impressive, most impressive…” Vala teased in a fake Darth Vader accent. He sat down on the bed beside her, gave her Hannah and took Scott less tentatively but with equal success in the burping department.

“Another skill for my resumé darling,” he handed her the baby back and made a move to get off the bed.

“No, stay with me, with us…”

“I’d love to,” Daniel kicked off his shoes and settled in beside her, wrapping his arms around all three of them. She laid Hannah on his chest and rolled a little into him, entwining one leg with his. Within moments all four of them were asleep.

An hour later, they were still all wound up together when the rest of the team poked their heads in. Sam took one look at them and promptly burst into tears and so the team tiptoed back out into the hall while she collected herself. “Jeez Carter, don’t start bawling all over the place or the rest of us are gonna lose it too!”

“Right Cam, you’re absolutely right! But did you ever see anything like that scene before. Daniel looks so….”

“Happy,” Carolyn offered with a sob. “God Samantha, we’ve got to get it together.” She pushed the door open again and the four of them went in together.

Daniel was now awake and flashed them all a dazzling smile, “Hey guys,” he gently extricated himself from Vala and stood up with Hannah. “This is Hannah,” he handed her to Sam who gazed down at the little sleeping face in awe. Daniel reached and gently picked up Scott, handing him to Teal’c. “And this is Scott.” Scott promptly screwed up his face and opened his eyes.

Teal’c smiled broadly, clearly besotted, “He looks just like his mother…most fortuitous indeed. You, my little warrior, have shown great wisdom in your choice of parents.”

Vala laughed softly from the bed, now awake and enjoying the strange scene in front of her. She sighed contentedly and leaned her head on Daniel who had taken up residence on the bed again. Sam smiled at her through a veil of tears, “Vala, this little girl is so beautiful. C’mere guys, look at her. Now who do you think this little angel looks like?’

“Poor child looks just like Jackson,” Cameron chuckled. “May I?” he motioned to the baby.

“Absolutely Cam, if you can stand looking at my face in miniature…” Daniel laughed and Vala swatted his leg. “I think you’d like a couple of your own!”

“Yeah…” he said a bit wistfully.

Carolyn squeezed Vala’s toes affectionately and announced that she needed to get home and grab some shut-eye as she was on duty at 1:00. “I’ll drop by tomorrow to check on how you’re doing…”

“Yes, I think we’ll all go now,” Sam suggested. “I’ll drop Teal’c off at home and then come back when Jack gets in…”

Cameron and Teal’c laid the babies in one bassinet together. “I have heard that twins need to be together for the first little while if they are to settle down more easily,” Teal’c advised.

“You’ve been reading one of my books Muscles!”

“Indeed I have. Get some rest you two. You must steal it where you can from now on.”

As the door closed, and they were alone again, Vala snuggled in tightly with Daniel. “I want to tell you something,” she began, “and you just have to listen okay?” He nodded and pulled her even closer. “I was so scared today and you were…my rock; you were the most amazing help to me and you kept me focused and I felt so loved. Before it gets too crazy and I forget to tell you, I wanted to tell you how much it meant to me to have you with me and to say thank-you.”

Daniel promptly burst into tears, taking them both by surprise. She held on to him and rocked him in her arms. “Darling, what is it? What’s wrong? Ssshhh…oh honey, it’s okay.”

“You think I was amazing? God Vala,” he tried to catch his breath, “you are the most amazing, most incredible…and you are thanking me? That’s so like you…” he continued to sniffle.

“Just let it all out my love, it’s okay…”

“Yep, letting it all out I guess,” he began to quiet slowly. “You don’t know do you?”

“Know what my darling?”

“You don’t know how magnificent you are, how spectacular. Everyone knows it; everyone sees it—God Vala, those babies…” he started to cry again.

“You’re happy,” she said simply.

“Uh-huh…didn’t know I could love this much…little bit overwhelming.”

“Yeah, love them too honey…”

“Yes, but I meant I didn’t know I could love you this much…thought I loved you to the limit of love and I said things like, ‘I’m totally in love with her’ but I was wrong. I love you more now than I thought possible….”he broke off again, “ and the babies…god Vala, it’s humbling you know?”

“So, you’re happy…I’m glad,” she yawned. “And for the record, you taught me how to love and loving you, having your children…is…more…than…I…ever…dreamed was possible…mmmm…sleepy now…so happy.”

 

The babies were up and hungry less than 3 hours later and the tandem feeding process began again. Daniel continued to stare in awe at the whole thing and was already getting the diapering gig down. Years of the battlefront had inured him well and unlike most new fathers, he was remarkably laid-back about the whole thing. “You know Daniel, it’s pretty sexy watching you take care of them,” Vala purred from the bed.

“Oh be serious Vala!”

“I am serious and in what, around six weeks? I’m going to show you just how sexy it is…”

“So changing diapers is now foreplay? I assure you, it isn’t for me!” he laughed and handed her a baby. “There’s one, I’ll start on the other.”

While he was finishing up with Hannah, Vala’s obstetrician came in to check on things and Vala handed Scott back so she could be examined. Daniel took the two babies outside the curtain and just held them, periodically kissing them. Transfixed by his children, he reacted with alarm when he heard Vala shout, “Over my dead body!” He quickly put the babies into their bassinet and ripped open the curtains with ten times the ‘zeal’ needed.

“What Vala? What’s wrong?”

“The doctor was suggesting that we could…cut…God, that’s barbaric!”

“I take it you two haven’t discussed whether or not you would like to have your son circumcised Dr. Jackson?” the doctor looked dumbfounded. “It is entirely up to you of course; I was just saying that if you wanted it done, tomorrow would be a good day for the procedure.”

Daniel laughed in spite of Vala’s horrified face, “No doctor, we…um…won’t be having that done. Vala is from ah…New Zealand…it’s not routinely done there, or well most countries outside of the U.S. actually. And, well…um…not part of…. um…you know…my…”

“Family tradition?” the doctor smiled knowingly. “Well good, as you know it isn’t a necessary procedure but most people prefer…”

“Well, WE don’t and I’m not letting anyone with a scalpel get anywhere near my baby!” Vala was overly worked up and Daniel put a soothing hand on her leg.

“Is everything else okay with Mama Bear?” Daniel joked.

“She’s in amazing shape and should be able to go home on Tuesday or Wednesday. Congratulations to you both; I’ll come by again tomorrow morning.”

“Vala, it’s a cultural thing and about two-thirds of American children are circumcised…didn’t any of the books talk about it?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know what it meant…it isn’t going to single him out if we don’t is it? I don’t want to create more problems…”

“Vala, it hasn’t caused me any problems…so just let it go okay, it’s fine…it isn’t something that people talk about in public anyway.”

“There isn’t some sort of cutting ritual with girls that I don’t know about is there? Because if there is you can just…”

“No. No one’s going to touch either of them,” he smiled gently. “You are so beautiful…” he leaned in and kissed her passionately.

“So you find my ‘mommy kill’ instinct sexy I take it?” she whispered in his ear.

“Surprisingly…” he kissed her deeply.

“Ohforcryingoutloud! That’s just the kind of behaviour that got you two in this predicament in the first place!”

“Jack!” Vala beamed and opened her arms for a hug. “Daniel’s gone all mushy and gushy on us I’m afraid!”

“Has he now? Bloody well time!” he slapped Daniel on the back. “Danny, those are some pretty good looking kids over there…got their Mom’s looks thank god!”

“I’m glad you came Jack,” Daniel stood up and walked over to admire the babies with him. “You ever think of you know…you and Sam…getting married, starting a family?”

“Asked her a few times…believe me…she’s just doesn’t want to leave the Air Force, and well, I’d need to retire and she doesn’t want that either…”

“It’s not like you make a secret of it…so what’s the big deal…”

“Certain latitude has been extended to us…saving the world has its perks apparently…who knows? Maybe someday she’ll say yes…”

Daniel smiled and handed Hannah to Jack and picked up Scott himself. “Perfect aren’t they?”

“Youbetdha!” Jack cooed at the baby, “Welcome to the world Hannah banana…you gonna fly spaceships like your Uncle Jack?”

Sam, who had been deep in girl talk with Vala, overheard him, “Hey hey there…or her Aunt Sam…”

“Or her mother!” Vala giggled.

Daniel laughed and handed Scott to Sam who hadn’t had the chance to hold him earlier. “He’s so alert Vala, and he looks just like you, don’t you Scotty?”

“I was thinking of Scooter actually,” Jack interrupted. Daniel began waving his arms around in protest. What’s that Lassie? Timmy’s stuck in a well?”

“Ah Jack?”

“Yes Daniel?” Jack grinned mischievously.

“Don’t you dare call my son Scooter!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 26 weeks pregnant with twins: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2415/2417795903_2bb665c435.jpg?v=0  
> 30 weeks pregnant with twins:
> 
> http://www.raising-twins.com/30-weeks-pregnant-with-twins.html
> 
> 40 weeks pregnant with twins? http://www.raising-twins.com/40-weeks-pregnant-with-twins-.html


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